The Cost of Protection
by Daughter of Chaos
Summary: An old woman offers an unbelievable gift to Kenshin - perfect health and immunity to injury. But such a gift comes at high cost, how much can Sanosuke and the dojo group afford to pay?
1. A Fated Meeting

Disclaimer: Kenshin, his fun world and amazing friends are all the brain children of Nobuhiro Watsuki. They don't belong to me and I certainly make no profit from them. I have fun torturing them though :)

**The Cost of Protection**

A Rurouni Kenshin Story

Chapter One: A Fated Meeting

"Kenshin! Behind you!"

Kaoru's voice was shrill with the urgency of the call. Sanosuke dodged the fist flying toward his left shoulder and neatly flipped the man who threw it behind him even as he swiveled mid-battle to get an eye on Kenshin. The man was like a red-haired wind storm blowing through a battle field, opponents scattered like so many fall leaves on the ground behind him. Even as Sano watched, the rurouni used the momentum of one of his frontal attackers to take down the two men who were intent on attacking his back.

Sanosuke grunted as he looked back to one of his own foes in time to block the kick aimed for his belly. The young man plowed his fist into the man's knee and listened with no little satisfaction as he howled in pain before dropping to the ground grasping his leg. Spinning out of another attack, Sano quickly dodged his way back to his position at Kenshin's back. It was where he belonged in a battle after all. He saw Kenshin cast a brief appreciative smile and returned the favor before launching back into an attack on their opponents.

Kaoru and Yahiko stood off to the side of the large mansion's courtyard. Each of them had a wooden sword in hand, though it wouldn't be hard to see that Yahiko was putting more energy into taking down those few thugs that strayed toward them. Kaoru only had eyes for Kenshin. The object of the search that spawned this fight was quivering behind two big bodyguards, cornered against one of the very tall stone walls of the courtyard.

The name of the man they had spent the better part of two days hunting down was Nobu. Nobu was reputed to have been kidnapping people, specifically people of desired looks or skill sets, and holding them in his home for his own purposes. A form of slavery, but no selling involved. There was no doubt that the man was involved in worse things than that, but it was that charge that had brought Kenshin and his friends charging in.

Specifically when Tae from the Akebeko had gone missing two days before and Nobu's men had suddenly been bragging about the gorgeous and talented new chef the mansion had just "acquired."

Tae and the others that had been taken around Tokyo and beyond could be seen even now peeking through a basement barred window into the courtyard. Eyes on the battle being waged by the Kenshingummi against Nobu's not-so-small hired gang.

"I swear I've fought you jokers before!" Sanosuke bellowed as he backhanded yet another on comer. "You guys just drift from one lousy ass bodyguard job to another or what?"

It was true, he'd fought a number of these men before in various situations around Tokyo. And beat 'em all too. Amazing what stupidity people would sink to for money. Sano spun a kick at yet another man and was aware of Kenshin leaving his back again. Kenshin did that usually when he spied a stronger foe. Tended to leave the cannon fodder to Sanosuke. Not that Sano minded – much – as long as he was involved in the fight.

The hired gang, or what was left of them, closed in on Sanosuke, rather making it easier for him to take out more men at a time. The last of them fell and Sanosuke turned to find his red headed friend again. This time, he was engaged in a verbal match with the last standing of Nobu's to bodyguards. The other had quite obviously all ready been dispatched. Kenshin's look was determined. "If you will just let this one take care of your charge, you may leave. You know what is being done here is wrong."

The man smiled, a vicious thing. He stood taller than Kenshin, but not much above Sanosuke himself. His clothing covered him well, but it was easy to see he was muscular. The weapon he held before him was unusual though, looking like a twin set of wooden batons. "Don't matter to me if he's right or wrong, what matters is that he pays. You take him, I don't get paid."

Yahiko growled from their side of the court, a selection of fallen bodies scattered around him as well. "Are you stupid? Didn't you just see what Kenshin did to the rest of your buddies? Give up all ready!"

The man sneered, "I ain't like this other lot. I actually have some skills. And I plan on usin' them!"

Kenshin's look was serious. He repositioned his sakabato before him and said. "If it must be this way, then it must."

Wooden bat man took this as his cue and launched a flurry of multi-strike moves at Kenshin. And, Kenshin being Kenshin looked to deflect most if not all of them. Sure, the guy had some skills, but he was nothing on Kenshin. Sanosuke turned his attention form the fight and instead watched as the owner of this slave house tried to slink away during the action. Sanosuke grinned grimly as he sprinted over fallen men across the courtyard and half pounced on the evil little man. Nobu squealed as Sano lifted him by the back of his shirt and held him in place until Kenshin finished his fight.

As for that, Sano was impressed to see Kenshin pull out his flying sword technique on such a guy. But the bodyguard was not so sturdy as Sano himself and as the blunt side of the sakabato struck the back of his head, the man fell with out so much as a grunt.

Kaoru ran to Kenshin nearly before his opponent hit the ground, Yahiko hot on her heels. Kenshin himself nodded to Sanosuke, aware that he had caught the coward. The group made their way over to the ex-gangster and his charge. Sano smiled wickedly. "So, you gonna give us your cell key now? Doesn't matter if you do or don't, I can knock down the door on my own. Might be easier for you if you do though."

Kenshin shook his head. "It would be better to have the key," eying Sano, he briefly raised an eyebrow, "This one would prefer to see those held within remain unhurt."

Nobu turned his head back and for the between Sanosuke and Kenshin, his beady little eyes wide with horror. "Of... of course, you won't hurt me will you?"

Nobu dug into his pocket and pulled out the key in question, dropping it into Kenshin's hand. Sanosuke growled into his ear as he did this. "We'll only hurt you as much as you hurt those people you took."

It was not much of a surprise to Sanosuke to see the man's eyes roll into his head as he passed out on the spot. Kenshin's hand closed on the key and he took the time to offer Sano a half amused, half scolding look as he darted into the mansion.

Releasing the people Nobu had taken was both a joyous and tearful affair. Sanosuke stood with his back against a far wall and watched the twelve people who had been captured, both men and women, each fall all over themselves to thank Kenshin for his wonderful deed. Kenshin was humble in receiving his praise, but did nothing to stop them. He understood, as Sano did, that they needed someone to thank. Sano was just more than happy to step out of the way and let Kenshin take that praise.

Kenshin deserved it more anyway.

There was one older woman though, who had been captured, who stood off to the side as well. The group of them, including prisoners, Nobu, and the hired gang that hadn't fled were all taken down to the police station. Statements were made and and those who deserved it were jailed. The Kenshin group were all content to see those people wind their way home, many for the first time in weeks. The emotional hug between Kaoru and Tae was particularity tearful as they waved the woman off on her way back to her restaurant and family.

That left only the older woman standing with them.

And Kenshin did what he was best at, looking after others. "Is there somewhere we can help you go?"

The woman was rotund, and homely. Any other woman of her age would have been called grandmotherly, but this woman's face lacked the maternal warmth for that. Gray eyes glittered back at Kenshin. "I'm happy for your help, but I've no place to go for the night, you see. I had hoped I could impose upon your household for a meal and a bed for the night. Perhaps I can offer you an appropriate reward for your good deeds today."

Kenshin smiled graciously at the woman, eyes closed in that fake look of his. "This one does not need or require a reward but..."

At this point Kaoru stepped up beside him and interrupted. "But you are more than welcome to spend the night in my home. I'm Kaoru, by the way, this is Kenshin, the loud one there is Yahiko, and the rooster head is Sanosuke. Who are you?"

The older woman smiled, and they were given to a display of very few teeth in her maw. "I am called Shizuka, and I thank you for your utmost generosity."

~/~

Sanosuke found that the woman Shizuka gave him the heeby jeebies. She was creepy in the way she stared at each of them like she could look right through them. She was creepy about her demand to cook dinner (all though the food had been very good, even he had said so) and she was creepy in the way she was watching Megumi fuss over Kenshin's bruises from the fight. Apparently that guard had gotten in a few hits to Kenshin's torso.

"Dear Ken-san, look at what has been done to your beautiful body! It will of course require but a few salves to be rubbed on these bruises. I will be more than happy to do that for you."

Kenshin blushed slightly under Megumi's open flirting. "They are only bruises, Megumi-dono, this one is fine as he is."

Megumi grinned that foxy grin of hers, especially as Kaoru 's face looked ever more like a thunder head over this treatment of her Kenshin. "Oh, but as your doctor I must insist that this gets rubbed in, Ken-san. Nice and slow."

Sanosuke could feel the tiniest of smiles tugging at his lips, despite the creepy woman. The fox lady played these mind games with Kaoru so well, it was funny sometimes. And when Kenshin got that 'caught in the middle' look to go with it, it made it better. In a moment, he would do something to save Kenshin, but not yet.

"No, no, Megumi-dono, this one is capable of rubbing the salve on himself if you think it is required..."

And then Shizuka moved. The old woman climbing to her feet with surprising nimbleness. She suddenly asked to the room at large, "If there was one thing you could wish for while your Kenshin-kun is in battle, what would it be?"

There was a moment of stunned silence in the room. No one was quite sure where the question had come from let alone how to answer it. Sanosuke upgraded his creepy meter on the woman. Kaoru on the other hand, gathered herself to answer. "I would wish that he would be safe and... not suffer any injuries for doing good."

The old woman's gray eyes pinned Kaoru. "No injuries at all?"

"Well, certainly none if it could be helped. But, its not as though that will ever happe..."

"Would you offer your Kenshin this protection at any cost?"

Kaoru blushed, "Of course I would!"

At the same time Kenshin tried to interrupt, "Mah, mah... this is all hypothetical. "

The old woman met Kenshin's eyes. "I can do this for you. Grant you immunity to all injuries."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "This is an impossible thing that you offer. At what cost would you plan on offering it?"

The old woman smiled her toothless smile. "I told you I would reward you for your good deed. Your reward shall be immunity and good health, which should please you and these lovely young women. Who here do you not need to protect?"

Kenshin blinked at Shizuka for the seemingly sudden change of topic. "This one would protect all of his friends."

"Certainly," the old woman allowed, "but who among them do you not need to protect?"

Kenshin eyed the woman for a long moment, as though trying to see through her as well. "Sano is more than capable of looking after himself."

And then the old woman turned her attention on him for the first time all night. Sanosuke just restrained himself from swallowing the lump that popped up in his throat. The woman eyed him up and down as though weighing a piece of meat. Sanosuke upped the creepy meter another notch even as some little alarm began sounding in the back of his head.

"I see he is strong. And Sanosuke, would you offer this protection to your friend at any cost?"

Kenshin spoke up abruptly. "This one wishes no cost to be taken of any of my friends for any sort of protection."

But the old woman's eyes never left Sanosuke. The young man's lips thinned into a small frown. "I would."

She grinned again, all gums and homely features. "So be it."

Turning on her heel, Shizuka knelt with the same agility that she stood with, firmly placing herself between Kenshin and Megumi. Kenshin, began backing up, protesting, but she quickly laid her hands on the bruised flesh of Kenshin's torso and whispered something low and a little too much like some witchy incantation for Sanosuke's tastes.

The group all watched, enthralled by this strange performance. Sanosuke was so engrossed, that when he abruptly felt something like a static shock hit him in his chest, he grunted not in pain, but in surprise. Kenshin had loosed a small yelp at the same moment, and so all attention was drawn to him and not the ex-street thug. Sanosuke took only a moment to rub at the spot, but his attention was quickly riveted back to Shizuka and Kenshin.

The bruises were fading away beneath her fingers.

The entire company stared in no little awe as the old woman stood and stepped back, surveying her work. Megumi choked even as her own fingers darted out to dance across Kenshin's now perfect flesh. "But, that's not possible. Wounds do not just disappear!"

Shizuka nodded sagely. "There are more types of magic in this world than your science will ever explain, child. From now until you call me forth again, your Kenshin shall be immune to illness and injury. This is my gift to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am an old woman and I will retire to my room now."

"Wait!" Kaoru called out, hand out toward the fast leaving back of the old woman. "Why would we call you back to take this gift away?"

The old woman stopped and with out turning around she started laughing, something closer to a cackle. "You will see child, you might or might not call me again."

With that she left the room and left its occupants to marvel over this strange turn of events. Megumi's eyes were narrow with contemplation. "It just is not possible, medically. It isn't."

Yahiko grinned. "Honestly, Megumi-san, if she really has made it so Kenshin won't get hurt anymore, are you going to complain?"

Megumi shook her head, long tresses swaying. "If it were possible I would kiss her toes. I certainly have enough on my hands keeping the rooster healthy. But, it just is NOT possible!"

Kaoru smiled happily. "I don't know who or what she is, but I think she's telling the truth. The bruising is gone! Is the pain gone too, Kenshin?"

Kenshin's own eyes were narrowed, as though he smelled a flaw in this plan. "This one is feeling none of the pain that he was. In old wounds and in new."

Kaoru clapped her hands together in delight. "Then, you see? She is telling the truth. Oh, Kenshin, it would be wonderful if you really will never be hurt again! Imagine all the good you can do for so many people if your invincible? I... why do you look so unhappy?"

Megumi growled. "Because magic does not exist."

Kenshin eyed her briefly before saying, "Because even if such a magic does exist, Shizuka-dono spent too much time talking about cost for this one to think that such a gift comes with no consequences."

Yahiko snorted. "From where I'm sitting, I don't see any downsides! You should test it out!"

Kenshin shook his head. "True or not, this one would prefer to exercise his usual caution."

Sanosuke grunted. "Ya know Kenshin, if your feeling good, that's what counts. I'd take it at face value on this one."

Kenshin scowled a moment longer. "Perhaps."

The ex-gangster took the last pull of the tea before him and shuffled himself to his feet. "Well, this has been fun all, but I'm gonna go have a few drinks and head home. I'll be back tomorrow, so you'd better have lunch ready for me. Until then, good luck with the creepy old woman."

With a wave of his hand, Sanosuke stepped outside and slid the shoji closed behind him. He walked out into the crisp evening air, sliding his shoes on, and walked out through the front gate. He was more than a block away from the dojo before he allowed himself to stop and gently press his forearm to his bandage wrapped torso.

He knew that when he took the bandages off, there would be a lovely set of bruises on his belly to match what had once been on Kenshin's. He knew that because he had felt the pain come on about when said bruises had disappeared from Kenshin.

Sanosuke grunted softly to himself. He had said he would afford Kenshin that protection at any cost. He just wondered how long he could keep that cost from the rurouni himself.

To be Continued.

Author's Note:

Yeah, I'm back at it again. And what am I up too? The same old same old! I'm not so certain there is much of a plot to this story. Most of the plot, if there is any, is laid down in this chapter (my apologies if you found it slow, I needed some sort of backdrop into this.) The point of this story I am not afraid to admit, is SANOSUKE WHUMPAGE :) And whump on him I will. What is whumping? Why torturing with love. And I do love to torture Sanosuke. I don't usually do the whole "magic" bit, but... well, for this particular form of whumpage I needed some sort of explanation. Creepy Old Woman filled the gap.

I think maybe some character study will come out of this as well, but causing pain to Sanosuke is the real goal.

Enjoy ;)


	2. The Keeping of Small Secrets

**The Cost of Protection**

A Rurouni Kenshin Story

Chapter Two: The Keeping of Small Secrets

That first morning when Sanosuke woke, he lay for a long moment staring at the much patched ceiling of his apartment. It was an internal debate on his part concerning if he actually felt different this morning, or if he thought he felt different. He felt... slightly tired, but then staying up late drinking may have had something to do with that. He felt a little sore around his belly button and had the bruises to go with it. He felt sore in other places of his body that he knew were not from anything he did. Those hurts seemed to match well with the injuries Kenshin had taken fighting Shishio.

Huh, Sano hadn't really thought to ask Kenshin if those wounds were still hurting him. Now he knew.

Sanosuke grunted and began his morning routine. Washing his face outside, Sanosuke considered. He did feel different. Aside from the aches and pains. Those were minor, all of them. Sanosuke had certainly gotten worse and walked through worse on his own. Actually, the different feeling had little to do with anything physical. He felt good. Sanosuke smiled a little as he dried his face. He felt damn good about this. He could finally protect Kenshin instead of Kenshin always protecting him.

He also knew that he had to keep this little tid-bit of information from Kenshin as long as possible. The red-haired man would never go for it, if he knew. He would feel unreasonable guilt if he knew. It would be fine, hiding it though. Kenshin was a cautious man by nature and any pain he did receive, Sanosuke was fairly certain he could hide. Barring anything very serious, of course.

Still he wondered how the thing actually worked. Sanosuke knew that the old bruises and pains had been transferred to him, but what would happen if Kenshin were to take an injury this moment. Would it show immediately on Sano?

Sanosuke had opportunity to find out shortly after he stepped into the Akebeko. He had stopped by the restaurant in order to check up on Tae, who despite her constant reminders about Sano's growing tab, had quite grown on him. He smiled and waved at the woman, amused to see her back at work. "So, Tae, not so much as a day off for recuperation after your adventure?"

Tae made an un-lady like sound before smiling back at him. "Some of us have business to run, Sano-san. We don't get days off. Besides, I'm not thinking while I'm working. Its all for the best."

Sanosuke chuckled. "Yeah yeah, I see how it is."

"And you, you know I'm not open for lunch yet what are you doing here? Unless, Sano-san, did you come to check on me?"

The young man blushed ever so slightly, a bandaged right hand straying to the hair at the back of his head. "I, well, uh... yeah."

Tae's smile brightened, her brown eyes glittering. "Thank you Sano-san, I do appreciate the gesture."

Sano quirked a small smile in return. "So appreciative that you might knock a little off my ta- Ouch!"

Tae blinked at his exclamation, and raised an eyebrow as the ex gangster abruptly stuffed his index finger in his mouth. "Sano-san?"

Sanosuke pulled the wounded digit from between his lips and stared at it peculiarly. The pad of the finger was bright red, the shade of a fresh burn. There was nothing hot on him or in the middle of the hall to burn himself on... Well, wait, he hadn't burned himself. Kenshin must have had a cooking incident. Looking back to Tae, Sano grinned a little sheepishly and held his finger out for her inspection. "I guess I burned myself somewhere this morning and just now realized it. Sorry to worry you."

Tae rolled her eyes. "Sano-san, they joke that your a little slow in the head, and its experiences like these that make me see why they say it."

The young man pulled a wounded expression. "Hey, whose this "they" you've been talking too?"

The woman covered her mouth as she laughed. "No one of importance, Sano-san. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a restaurant to run! Get out of here, you. And no, I'm not taking anything off your tab!"

With a gentle push from the restaurant owner, Sanosuke took his leave. The young man wandered at his leisure on a slow heading for the dojo. He was in no hurry to meet up with the creepy old woman again. But he was hungry for this lunch he hoped Kenshin was cooking. He had the burn to earn it and all.

He arrived at the dojo just past the noon canon. Sanosuke raised his noes to the air and smelled appreciatively of the cooking aroma. He walked around to the back porch and found the group all outdoors around the cook pot. With the exception of one foxy doctor and one creepy old woman.

"Hey. You all not feeding the old lady today or what?"

Kenshin smiled at him from his position stirring the food. "Hello Sano. It would seem that Shizuka-dono took her leave of us early this morning. Its just us, at the moment. Are you ready for lunch?"

Kaoru laughed. "You forget Kenshin, Sanosuke is always ready for lunch!"

Which is how he discovered that the creepy old woman was gone. A normal boisterous lunch told him that everyone was behaving as though nothing had changed. Kenshin accidentally dipping his finger into the pot of boiling liquid, quickly retrieving it, and looking at it for a long hard moment answered another question for Sano. Kenshin didn't feel the pain inflicted at all, it went straight to Sanosuke's all ready burned index finger. He didn't so much as flinch.

~/~

The second day brought a new set of experiences. Sano woke and submitted himself to the usual morning routine. From there, he wandered out into town and met up with his two friends Ginji and Tomo. The three of them were in high spirits, his two friends trailing him to Akebeko as this time Sanosuke fully intended to add to his tab. And, of course, check and see how Tae was doing.

There was laughter and rough humor among the men during lunch and much blushing and eye rolling from Tsubame-chan and Tae. Sano smiled as Tae eyed him and asked the usual of, "I'll assume this is going on your tab then?"

"You bet Tae, unless your feeling generous today?"

The woman snorted softly, but smiled brightly. "I should hardly say I am, Sano-san. Have a good day everyone."

Sanosuke shook his head with a rueful smile. Tomo poked him in the ribs as the walked out the door. "Do you try to flirt with Tae-san, Sano-san? I don't think your going to earn your way out of your tab that way!"

The younger man laughed, still keeping the fish spine he had snagged firmly between his teeth. "I'm figuring that if she hasn't back handed me for it at this point, it can't hurt, ya know?"

Ginji rolled his eyes. "Really Sano-san. Sometimes if I didn't know the old you and the new you were the same person, I'd think I didn't know you at all."

Sanosuke's eyebrows drew down at this statement. "What do you mean by that, exactly? I've always flirted with women."

Ginji backed away a step, hands in the air in an open palmed gesture of surrender. "Nothing bad Sano-san. And, well, you never flirted like you do now. You were... never so playful. Not to worry of course, I'm as much friends with the old Sano-san as I am with the new Sano-san. But this new one is so much more relaxed!"

Tomo nodded in agreement as he flanked the opposite side of Sanosuke that Ginji had. "Ah, its true. I feel less like if I say the wrong thing that you'll blow up at me now."

Sanosuke grunted, his eyebrows knitting closer together. "You saying I scared you two before?"

It would explain a few things, like how these two friends never made any attempt to tell him no to anything. Like how they backed off so quick when he looked angry. Ginji shrugged. "Yes and no? We knew you'd never really hurt us, your our friend after all! And one thing that you surely are, Sano-san, is loyal."

The younger man snorted, and closed his eyes allowing for a small smile. "Well, all right then. But you know..."

Sanosuke hadn't quite the chance right then to finish the sentence. One moment he was walking down a flat, if busy street, the next his right ankle refused for a second to support him. With wide eyes, Sanosuke swung his right hand wide to clap onto Tomo's shoulder for support.

Both men turned suddenly concerned eyes on him. "Sano-san, are you all right? We didn't have that much to drink..."

Sano began to wave them off before staggering forward once more. This time it was due to a second pain assailing his back. Sanosuke gasped very softly in surprise. He pulled back from Tomo and stood for a long moment in the center of the road, letting the foot traffic flow around the three men. It was strange. His ankle now supported him. It hurt a bit, felt as though he'd gotten it twisted. There was also a pain across his back, something that felt as though it would be a bruise in an hour or two. Neither pain was terrible by any stretch, but the shock of having them suddenly inflicted on him with out feeling any blow or having tripped on his own was breathtaking.

Realizing belatedly that Tomo and Ginji were both watching him with distinct concern, Sano offered them an embarrassed smile before tapping his right foot on the dirt below. "Apparently I am capable of tripping over my own feet. I'm fine guys, just startled myself is all."

Both men sighed, nearly in unison. Tomo smiled as he said, "You know I would have never considered the old Sano-san a klutz, but this one..."

Ginji threw his head back and openly laughed. Sanosuke offered a silent thank you to whichever deity was listening that his friends might buy that little deflection so well. An hour or so later, with Sano only hobbling slightly on his abused right angle, found the young man parting ways with his buddies and heading once again to the dojo. He could not wait to hear the story that went with these new pains of his, as he was sure he would be told all about it.

Low and behold, Sanosuke was not wrong in that guess. He had barely pushed open the back gate to the dojo, waving a hello at Kenshin as the other man hung laundry when he was fairly assailed by both Kaoru and Yahiko. "Oh man, Sanosuke, you really missed the action today!"

Kaoru pushed Yahiko out of the way as she took up where he left off. "There was this adorable kitten stuck in the tree just over there," Kaoru pointed at the tree in question to demonstrate. "And of course I told Kenshin he had to go and rescue the poor baby, it was mewling so."

Yahiko poked Kaoru hard in the side with his bokken, forcing her out of his way and garnering Sano's attention again. "So Kenshin goes up the tree, and what does the kitten do? It climbed higher! So there is Kenshin, chasing this kitten up the tree when we hear this loud crack. Next thing we know, Kenshin jumped to the ground. He must have landed strangely, because it was like one of his legs gave way beneath him and he rolled a little. And then this big branch came tumbling out of the tree and landed right on his back!"

Sanosuke blinked at this story, finally knowing what had caused his afternoon trip in the street. Kaoru pushed Yahiko back out of the way, taking over the story. "That's not the best part of this story though! Sanosuke, Kenshin didn't get hurt at all! And the size of that branch, he should have had such a bruise but..."

At this a loud exclamation of "Oro!" from his right drew Sano's attention to Kenshin. Who was currently being manhandled and stripped to the waist by Yahiko, the boy pulled the last of the dizzy rurouni's top off and turned him around for Sano to see for himself. "Look at that! Not a mark, not a bruise, not so much as something red and stinging! And the best part is, Kenshin said it didn't hurt him at all! Isn't this awesome? That old lady was telling the truth!"

Kenshin wriggled his way out of Yahiko's grasp, pulling his sleeves back up his arms. "Mah, mah, you two are making far too much out of this..."

Kaoru sighed, but gave Kenshin those doe eyes of hers. "We are not Kenshin. This is amazing! To think that you might truly never be hurt again is just such a wonderful thing..."

Sano inserted himself into the conversation before Kenshin could disagree again. "So with all this goin' on, what happened to the kitten?"

Kenshin gave him an appreciative look, seeking anyway out the conversation about his supposed "gift." The man then glanced about for a moment before his eyes came to rest near Sano's feet. The red-head pointed to Sano's left just before the ex gangster felt a tiny bump against his ankle. "The kitten is fine, and she seems to like you, Sano."

Sanosuke grinned as he lowered himself carefully to the kitten's level where she was rubbing against his leg. Scooping the fuzzy little creature into his large hands, Sanosuke let a couple of fingers trail down her head. The little cat purred roughly in response. Looking up to the three members of the household, Sanosuke lifted her gently toward them. "Well, then I'd say this is a story with an all around happy ending."

And it was, because Kenshin was still doing good in the world, one little life at a time, and Sano didn't even need to be there to protect him. Aside from that, he managed to cover his slight limp the rest of the evening.

~/~

On the third morning after the creepy old woman had given her 'gift' to Kenshin, Sanosuke woke up feeling stiff. By that wicked looking bruise he'd developed on his back, it really wasn't much of a surprise. And truly, Sano didn't mind.

The day was fairly uneventful, with Sano's plans including simply paying off a couple of bills after a good evening of gambling. That and a nice warm bath. He met with Kenshin and friends at the dojo late in the afternoon, and was not at all surprised to see Megumi with them this evening. They agreed to have dinner at the Akebeko that night, and Sanosuke, the good freeloader he was, was pleased to join them.

As they walked down the evening streets, Kaoru walked beside Kenshin, Yahiko trailing the two of them. Megumi walked beside Sanosuke at the back. She grinned wickedly up at him, a devious look in her cinnamon eyes. "So are we putting this all on your tab Sanosuke? How nice of you to buy for us all."

The woman then put the back of her hand to her mouth and laughed like the vixen she was. Yahiko and Kaoru in front of them each giggled in turn. Sanosuke scowled. "Hey, your a doctor, ain't you? You make the good money, you should buy for us tonight."

Megumi chortled again. "I might make good money if I didn't spend so much of my time taking care of certain rooster-headed idiots for free."

All Sanosuke could say to that was a sharp exclamation of, "Hey!"

The entire group laughed as they continued on. They were a few blocks from the Akebeko when Kenshin's luck hit them again. Because really, who else could get randomly attacked by a bunch of low-life thugs in the middle of a busy street?

Said thugs came in yelling something about revenge and attacked the group. There were only maybe fifteen of them, and as Sanosuke looked, he realized a bunch of them were the exact same idiots who had been hired by Nobu. Sanosuke pulled Megumi behind him and began hitting and kicking at those that came into range. The other three had all engaged in the brief battle as well. Kenshin taking out the most attackers. The street cleared for the small fight. Until one small child darted out into the cleared circle right before one last desperate thug. Sano watched Kenshin's eyes widen as he twisted his body hard throwing his arm between the thug's sharp knife and the child's horrified face. The knife sunk into Kenshin's flesh, cutting easily through his sleeve. With a second twist of his body, Kenshin brought the hilt of his sword hard to the thug's temple. The man fell with out a noise.

The crowd of onlookers around them began clapping, and a young mother darted out for her child. She thanked Kenshin profusely. Sanosuke silently clapped a hand over his now bleeding left arm. It wasn't a very deep cut, but blood really did show up very bright on his white jacket. Kaoru and Yahiko caught up to Kenshin shortly after Megumi did, the doctor grasping his arm and turning it to peer through the cut cloth. The woman's eyes narrowed. "Its simply unbelievable."

Sanosuke caught her saying this even as the crowd cleared away and the usual flow of people picked up again. "There isn't so much as a drop of blood on you. I know I saw that knife pierce flesh, I know I did!"

Kenshin was staring nearly as hard at his own arm as Megumi was. "The knife did enter this one's arm. This one felt it, but felt no pain with it..."

Kaoru fairly beamed. "This is the best gift anyone has ever given anybody. Kenshin! Your invincible now, you really are. I'm so happy you'll always come away from these things unhurt now."

Sanosuke squeezed the cut on his arm a little tighter and smiled to himself. It was worth it. Megumi huffed and turned her back on Kenshin, her eyes landing on Sanosuke. She must have spied the red escaping his hand because the doctor was suddenly marching toward him. "It figures, I have one man who can't get hurt and another who seems to be able to do anything but hurt himself."

Sanosuke frowned slightly. "Hey, I don't always hurt myself."

This conversation had turned the attention of the other three on him, Kenshin's concerned eyes on his arm. "Are you all right?"

Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Its just a cut, I'll be fine."

Yahiko eyed one of the men at Sanosuke's feet, a knife glittering just beyond his fingers. Sano's eyes followed his, and he found himself grateful for the coincidence. "So, what, one loser with a knife and you couldn't dodge? Man, Sanosuke, I think your getting slow!"

Megumi waved the boy off. Grasping Sanosuke's right arm, she began pulling him along in the opposite direction of the Akebeko. Sanosuke, whined, "But what about my food?"

The lady doctor ignored him calling back to the rest of their group, "You all go ahead and have a nice dinner with Tae tonight, I'll go patch up the rooster. If he's a good boy, I'll feed him when we're done."

Laughter followed them as the fox lady dragged him off to the clinic, just a few blocks away. She had him seated in a treatment room, slippers on his feet, before Sanosuke quite knew what to do with himself. "Okay rooster, let go of this cut of yours and let your doctor have a look at it."

Sanosuke released his arm as ordered, And Megumi plucked at his jacket. "You managed to get cut without cutting the jacket? That's a new trick."

Sanosuke just hid a guilty flash in his eyes as he silently pulled off his jacket to give Megumi full access to his arm. Megumi gave him a side long look all the same as she took his arm and began gently cleaning the cut. "Why so quiet, Rooster, did he cut out your voice box too?"

Sanosuke started, his mind entirely on different things. Namely how not to give himself away in the future like he nearly had with the uncut coat. "Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine. Just thinking, I guess."

Megumi snorted. "I thought I smelled something funny in the air. Its just the sawdust burning between your ears."

"Man," Sanosuke groaned, "Your tongue sure is sharp tonight, fox-lady."

"And your no fun at all for verbal sparring tonight. What on earth could you be thinking so hard about, Rooster?"

Sanosuke paused trying to come up with anything at all aside from his mysterious new set of ailments. "This 'gift' that creepy old woman gave Kenshin."

Sanosuke mentally winced even as the words were out of his mouth. Really, why couldn't he say something about the kitten from the day before? All the same, The fox lady' face took on a somber look. "It is disturbing, isn't it. Its too good to be true, wounds do not just instantly heal. It does not work that way."

Sanosuke smirked a little. "You keep saying that, fox-lady. Trying to make yourself believe?"

Megumi pursed her lips together. "Its unnatural though, don't you agree?"

Sanosuke sighed. "Yeah, it is, but its good, right? Kenshin is impervious to damage now. You don't have to worry about him."

The lady doctor shook her head. "I can't help but be worried about what I don't know about. To have been cut with that knife and have no damage. I know as a doctor the cut should look very much like this one."

Sanosuke froze at the comment. His mind was running little circles about itself as he hoped that Megumi did not make that connection. It shouldn't be an obvious thing. Certainly she wouldn't realize that...

"Actually," Megumi paused, needle held in her hand as she looked closely at the knife cut on Sanosuke's arm. "Actually his wound would have looked exactly like this. How did you get this cut with out cutting your jacket again, Sanosuke? You managed not to tell me when I asked that before."

Sanosuke's eyes skittered off to his left, landing on a jar of some medicine or another. "Well, it is a great trick, don't you think?"

But Megumi was no longer paying attention to him. She pressed a cloth to his cut and stood to peer over his shoulder and look at his back. "And this bruise on your back Sanosuke, it looks very much as though a branch fell on you. Were you rescuing kittens like Ken-san?"

Sanosuke pulled his shoulders slightly in on himself, feeling cornered. "I've been a bit clumsy lately, whats it to you?"

Cinnamon eyes met his as she sat back down on her stool. "If I ask you to unwind those bandages on your torso, will I find bruises there?"

Sanosuke leaned backward from the questioning woman. He tried desperately to deflect with a joke. "Mighty forward of you. Aren't you supposed to treat a guy to supper before you ask him to strip?"

Megumi's eyes narrowed nearly to slits, her grip on the cloth over his cut becoming nearly painful. "Take off the bandaging, Sanosuke."

"If I tell you no?"

"Then I'll do it myself, with a knife."

Sanosuke held her gaze with his own stubborn look for several moments. He was going to loose this battle. With a defeated sigh, Sano untied the bandaging while Megumi continued to hold the bandage on his arm. After a few moments, his torso was naked and Megumi's free hand was gently tracing the yellowing bruises that had been hidden there.

The woman's eyes were wide, a certain understanding and horror dawning in their depths. "Sanosuke... these are the exact same pattern as the bruises that had been on Ken-san. I remember them precisely. And these..." the woman turned again to look at his arm, "And this wound... and... Sanosuke, it can't be!"

"Its... its not so bad, really." Sanosuke said with a small shrug.

"Your taking all of Ken-san's injuries for him! How is that not a bad thing?"

Sanosuke sought out Megumi's eyes, determined that she understand this. "He's safe this way, isn't he? So I get a few extra bumps and bruises. So what? Think of all the good he can do this way, fox-lady!"

Megumi stared dumbstruck at him for a long moment. "But, Sanosuke, its not as though no one is getting hurt. You are still taking injuries."

"I'm a tough guy, I can handle it."

"Your an idiot too, for which I have no cure. I'm still stitching someone up, it just makes Ken-san look like some sort of super man in the mean time. And... does Ken-san know about this?"

Sanosuke's eyes instantly found his feet. "No."

Megumi hissed a breath through her teeth. "And when do you plan on telling him?"

Sanosuke, bit his lip. "I don't."

"You don't!"

Sanosuke took a deep breath and faced the woman again. "Hear me out. I can't tell him. He'll change everything he does, how he acts. Worse, he'll feel guilty. Unreasonably guilty, we both know that! I can protect him this way, I can I do it quietly. He can go on defending the weak and saving those who need it. I can quietly save him. Its a good deal this way, don't you see it? We just can't tell him!"

The foxy doctor stood, one hand grasping Sano's wound, the other wrapped about his right bicep. "This is not right, Sanosuke. Nothing about this is! How am I supposed to be happy about you getting hurt? You hurt yourself enough on your own without help from anyone else. And for your information, you are as much my patient as Ken-san is! We should tell him so that at the very least he he will practice caution."

Sanosuke half growled. "This is Kenshin we're talking about, he's always cautious. And, we are NOT telling him. Let me give him this, please!"

Megumi growled right back at him, shaking him by his arms. "And why should I let you be a self sacrificing idiot?"

The young man's features softened in the face of Megumi's concern. "Because whats done is all ready done, unless you know how to reverse some strange black magic? More than that. Megumi," he paused to allow the doctor to realize he had used her given name. "Don't you think Kenshin has suffered enough in his life? I, no, we can save him the physical part of that suffering with this. Maybe without the pain and all, he can come that much closer to finding happiness in his life. And, be honest with me, lady doctor. If you had to pick between stitching on me or stitching on your precious Ken-san at any given time, who would you rather it be? Who would you rather have with another little pain sitting in your office here? Who deserves some peace in his life?"

At this argument, Megumi froze. After a long moment her eyes turned back to his arm, her hand retrieved the needle and thread from her apron and with barely a word she began stitching. After a few stitches, the woman said very quietly, "I will not tell him. I'll even help you hide this. But, if you so much as get a scratch, I want you to come to me. If I see Ken-san scrape his knee, I will come find you. I will be watching you like a hawk, Sanosuke."

Sano smiled a little sadly at this response. He knew that argument would work. He knew how desperately Megumi wanted to protect Kenshin as well. They all did. She would help him; she was on his side. For better or for worse, Sanosuke would continue as he had been.

To be Continued.

Author's Note:

Oh, wow, this chapter turned out very long. I'm not sure if I should apologize or say "your welcome." Anyway, I know I'm jumping the gun in posting this a tad. I just posted the first chapter yesterday. However, I am in a typing mood, and a sharing mood, and I felt a second chapter would give us all a better idea of what is happening with Sanosuke and Kenshin. Its some interesting stuff, huh?

Of course, keeping little secrets can lead to big problems later, I wonder how Sano will fair?

On that note, I never mentioned it in the last chapter, so I'll point it out now. This will in no way be a romance, sure my bad boy flirts with the ladies a bit, but no more than he did in manga/anime. Romance really has nothing to do with this story. Its more about this weird self-sacraficing kick Sano is on }:)

Review and let me know what you think of this, yeah?


	3. The Things People Think

**The Cost of Protection**

A Rurouni Kenshin Story

Chapter Three: The Things People Think

Kenshin sat with his sakabatou resting across his crossed knees. He sat on the porch, watching the sunrise. The rurouni was often an early riser, but in this case he simply had not slept during the night. He had discovered that a part of this so called 'gift' was in that he needed less sleep, if any at all. He also did not need to eat as he normally would have to remain healthy. It was disturbing to Kenshin who had spent so many years familiarizing himself with the needs of his own body.

But then, eating and sleeping where small changes compared to this inability to experience pain.

It had been nearly three weeks since Shizuka-dono had granted him flesh impervious to injury and ill health. Kenshin was an honest man, and honestly there was something about this gift that set his nerves on edge. It had been Shizuka-dono's constant badgering of his friends that evening concerning what price they would pay for him. He found his days on edge and his evenings spent keeping watch over the dojo. He was waiting for the consequences of this 'gift' to turn up.

Secretly, he was finding good use for his less required sleep. It gave Kenshin the time and energy to watch over the dojo as he had never been able to do before. And his eating less allowed for the others of their group to eat more, namely Yahiko and Sanosuke.

The lack of sensing pain, though, Kenshin feared that was making him clumsy. It was hard to know if you had burned yourself on the hot kettle or not when he could not feel the pain of the burn. Certainly, he was well aware of the heat, but it did not cause the discomfort it should have. If he stepped wrong while carrying a full laundry basket he could feel the bones of his ankle slide the wrong direction, but felt no pain in the action. A moment later, he would suffer no ill effects from the twist at all. If he cut his finger chopping radishes, he could feel the knife's blade scoring his flesh, but there was no pain associated with it. No blood, the wound simply closed once the knife blade was removed.

Caution was difficult when no consequences for lack of it were felt. Actually, basic actions were more difficult with out the perception of pain. Kenshin had been given the opportunity to realize how much he relied on discomfort to mark his limits. However, with Shizuka-dono's gift, those limits should no longer exist. It begged another question though, if he were to live the rest of his days pain free, how would he relate to those who suffered?

Kenshin squeezed the scabbard of his sword with both hands, his eyebrows drawn close together. He did not like this gift. He did not like how it made him feel so very cut off. He did not like that he felt as though he were left waiting for the other sandal to drop.

The worst though, was the sensation in his gut that told him in its own way that his friends would be involved in this, and Kenshin knew the end results could not be good.

The rurouni had no one to truly express that feeling to, however. Kaoru-dono and Yahiko were both too enamored of the idea that he was truly invincible. They had in some ways thought it of him before, this reinforcement made it difficult to try to tell them any thing might be bad about this 'gift.' Megumi-dono had been quite interested in the first couple of days, only to very suddenly abandon any curiosity on the subject at all. When any of them brought it up before her now, she would sniff and say the whole business was nonsense.

And then there was Sano. The younger man seemed to be all for this gift. Not in the same fashion as Kaoru-dono and Yahiko, Sano seemed to genuinely like it for what it was. However, Kenshin was hard pressed to say for certain as he himself chose not to talk on the subject and Sano always helped him deflect it with the others. The younger man was as cheerful and affable as ever, but he didn't quite make the eye contact with Kenshin that he had before. And that hurt as much as Kaoru-dono putting him higher on his pedestal.

Kenshin blew out a small sigh, loosening the grip on his sword and swiftly standing. Perhaps he was just thinking too much on the matter. He had been made different, it only made sense that the others might treat him different.

The sun now bright on the eastern horizon, Kenshin stood and slid is sakabatou into the cloth at his side. Worries or no, there were daily chores to begin. And he certainly had plenty of time to work on breakfast before Yahiko and Kaoru-dono awoke.

~/~

Megumi's red painted lips turned up into a bright smile as she let herself into the dojo grounds and spied Ken-san up to his elbows in laundry. The smile turned decidedly foxy as she noted young Kaoru-chan watching him somewhat dreamily from the engawa. Never one to miss an open opportunity, Megumi flipped her long hair and marched with purpose past Kaoru with out so much as a word in the girl's direction. With an easy grace she stepped behind Kenshin, who she knew was well aware of her presence, and glided her fingers across his back. With a near purr, she leaned close to his ear but spoke clearly for Kaoru's sake.

"Well hello Ken-san. How terrible for you to be forced to work so early in the day. Shall I slip my hands in the water and help you?"

A blush danced across the swordsman's cheeks. "Mah, mah, Megumi-dono, this one enjoys doing laundry! But it really is a one man task, the wash basin is not very large."

Kaoru was all ready on her feet, eyes narrowed and making her way toward the two. Megumi felt near foxy ears appear on her head. "I would find it no problem to rub arms with you Ken-san. Perhaps we might also each grab the others hand. Purely on accident of course!"

The lady doctor was sure to announce this with a foxy laugh. Ken-san's eyes went ridiculously wide even as Kaoru got to the two of them. With deft hands the girl reached into the laundry basin and gripped a sopping wet article of clothing. Her aim was good as she tossed it at Megumi's head, but Megumi easily stepped out of the way. "You are," Kaoru hissed, "a positively dirty adult!"

Kenshin squawked an 'Oro!' even as Megumi covered her mouth and chortled in delight. "Good morning to you too, Kaoru-chan. I have no idea what your talking about, I was merely offering to help Ken-san with the laundry."

The girl sputtered, her ponytail bouncing behind her. "You.. arg! You foxy adult!"

The lady doctor pointedly ignored the repeated comment, instead turning her noes to the air. "I smell something burning, are you by chance cooking lunch, Kaoru-chan?"

"Hey, my cooking isn't so bad that you... Oh no, the stew!"

Kaoru bolted for the house and Megumi heard Ken-san sigh in amusement. "You should be kinder to her, Megumi-dono, that you should."

"And what would she learn of the cruelty of adults if I were kind, Ken-san? I'm just teaching. Perhaps I could teach you something as well?"

The last was said with a sly smile and a suggestive waggle of well sculpted eyebrows. Kenshin smiled, eyes closed in that rurouni way of his and both wet hands held out before him in truce. "Mah, Megumi-dono, this one must decline."

"Ah," the woman sighed. "Mores' the pity. Has the freeloading rooster shown up yet?"

The doctor slid this in as casually as she could. Her pride would not allow her to ask outright after the rooster-brained idiot, but the constant concern for him burning in her belly made her want to know where he was at all times. Not easy to do with a bum who seemed to wander the streets as often as he stayed in his own apartment.

There was something of a defeated slouch that entered Kenshin's shoulders as he turned to grab shirt Kaoru had thrown. Megumi had only managed to distract him briefly with her antics. "Sano has not been here yet today, that he has not."

For a man who was by all rights experiencing no pains, no exhaustion, and no injuries, he was certainly bouncing between tense and depressed in rapid succession these days. As much as she worried for Sanosuke's physical health, she worried as much for Kenshin's mental health. This "good thing" Sanosuke had talked her into going along with three weeks ago was putting Kenshin very much on edge.

And yet, he was otherwise healthy. Megumi felt herself trapped between a boulder and a brick wall on the topic.

"Is he well?"

The question caught her momentarily off guard. "Who?"

"Sano. His mood is good, but he has been looking... tired, that he has."

The lady doctor quickly backtracked her thoughts, wondered quickly if she had misspoken to alert Kenshin. No, she decided, the man had had three weeks to watch Sanosuke himself, and Kenshin was, despite his rurouni act, not a stupid man. She would have to warn the rooster to cover himself better if he intended to keep the reality of the situation from Kenshin. "Stupid rooster doesn't know that even young men can't spend all night up drinking and gambling and expect to get up the next morning in prime condition for weeks on end. From what I've seen of him, its nothing a few extra hours of rest might cure. Of course, knowing that hard head, he'll have to collapse before he gets that."

The lie rolled easily from Megumi's lips. It was not the first she had told since agreeing to Sanosuke's deal in his defense. A cut on a finger written off to another fight. A burn on his palm blamed on a clumsy moment. In truth, Megumi knew that Sanosuke had been going to bed quite early of the last week. He slept in late as well. She checked on him most mornings at his apartment. It was somewhat compulsive, but since Kaoru had confided to her that Kenshin was no longer going to bed at night, Megumi knew it would tax Sanosuke. Her check this morning had revealed that the rooster was either all ready up and gone or had slept someplace else the night before.

"Ah," Kenshin spoke softly, but kept eye contact with Megumi for an uncomfortably long moment. "Sano can be stubborn, that he can."

Finally released from the man's gaze, Megumi rolled her own eyes and heaved a sigh. "You have no idea."

"Are you and Sano dating?"

Megumi nearly choked, her eyes popping and her tongue sticking in her throat. "Ex-excuse me?"

Kenshin hung the last of the laundry and looked at her with his head cocked to the side. "You have been spending a great deal of time together, and when ever you are here and Sano is not, you ask after him. Are you a couple?"

A flush burned hard and bright up her cheeks and down her neck. Sanosuke? Ken-san thought she might have a relationship with that rooster-brained idiot? Didn't he think she had better taste, higher standards in choosing a partner? Certainly the boy was pretty, but he was equally stupid. "I should say not! He... he is repaying me. For all of the medical attention I have given him, he comes by the clinic and helps with chores."

It was not entirely a lie. Since Kaoru had also quietly told Megumi of her concern for Kenshin because he seemed to be eating very little, Megumi had been encouraging Sanosuke to come to the clinic and eat at least one meal a day. The rooster had eyed her skeptically at first, but he was a freeloader by nature and had soon agreed. She had later applied the condition that he had to help with the firewood and carrying water buckets in order to earn his meals. Despite the effort, she was aware that the young man was slowly loosing weight. It wasn't entirely noticeable in looking at him, but if ever he ate like a horse before he ate as though he were positively starving now. He was, Megumi realized, he was in some strange fashion being starved. Because Kenshin was being generous and eating less so that Sano might eat more.

It was ludicrous, really.

Again, Kenshin's eyes lingered on her a little too long. Finally he nodded. "Ah, this one understands."

Those purple eyes turned away from her and for a moment looked off into space. "Sano is coming now."

"Oh?"

Despite herself, Megumi instantly turned to spy the young man coming up the path to the back gate. Hands in the cloth of his pants and a fish spine between his teeth, he looked completely natural. If one were to ignore the dark bags under his eyes.

Kenshin smiled at her briefly as though he knew something she didn't before raising a hand in greeting toward the rooster. "Hello Sano! Your timing is good as usual, lunch should be done soon."

Sanosuke waved in return even as he let himself through the wooden gate. "Hey Kenshin, lady doctor. You sound surprised, but you ought to know by now my timing is always good when it comes to food."

Kenshin laughed softly at this and Megumi sighed. "You don't lie about that, now do you, rooster? There's no helping it, I suppose. Where were you this morning?"

Kenshin's eyes twitched between the two of them, his eyebrows climbing into his red bangs. Megumi realized a moment too late that after her previous conversation with the rurouni, she should not have asked that question in front of him. Sanosuke apparently thought nothing of it. She wondered sometimes if he thought at all. "I needed a bath. I stunk pretty bad and there's no getting in the public bath house after the nine o' clock canon. Why?"

Megumi felt the blush on her cheeks as she looked away from both men. "I needed you to carry my shopping for me, remember?"

Sanosuke blinked at her owlishly from tired eyes. "Uh, no, I don't remember that at all. When'd you tell me about that?"

Megumi blustered, wishing the idiot would get the hint and go with it. Being tired was no excuse for this level of unawareness. "Last night over supper!"

If possible, Kenshin's eyebrows rose even further, a tiny smile quirking its way onto his lips. Megumi mentally berated herself, wondering if the rooster's stupidity was contagious. If so, she had indeed been spending far too much time with him. "Nah, you were off n' talking about some new medicine comin' out of Germany. You never said anything about shopping."

Megumi fairly growled, "You idiot rooster..."

It was then that Kenshin asked all too innocently, "Are you sure you two are not dating?"

And Megumi could see that Sanosuke had finally caught up with what she was hinting at as he gaped openly at Kenshin. "What the hell?"

And for the moment, they all forgot about this terrible gift that seemed to be such a mood killer lately.

To be continued.

~\~

Author's Ramble:

Sometimes you just need to step back from your main character and take a look at what others are thinking. And for a chapter that started out so Kenshin-angsty, I enjoyed the humorous way it turned out. No, I'm not turning this to romance. There is always a joke about Sano and Megumi in both Manga and anime, I'm just taking it for a ride in this story as well. And yes, the "gift" is still well in effect.

Trying to write Kenshin in this chapter turned out to be a bit of a road block that held up my writing for a while. Once I got to Megumi though, the words flew! I'll be heading back to the realm of Sanosuke in the next chapter, he usually agrees with me and my muse when it comes to writing.

Stick around and see where this goes, yeah?


	4. Drinks Among Men

**The Cost of Protection**

A Rurouni Kenshin Story

Chapter Four: Drinks Among Men

Sitting on the dojo porch, Sanosuke attempted to follow the wooden sword play between teacher and student as Kaoru instructed Yahiko in the yard before him. The sun was up and bright in the early afternoon sky and the birds were chattering in the local trees. All the same, Sanosuke found himself repeatedly nodding off as he leaned against the porch support.

He was tired. A low rumble sounded from his stomach and Sanosuke patted his bandaged-wrapped belly in commiseration. He was hungry too. Both things were really quite funny. He'd slept nearly twelve hours straight the night before, he had no right to be tired now. He'd eaten three helpings of rice not a half hour before at lunch, he had no right to be hungry.

Kenshin hadn't eaten a thing. And if Yahiko's continued awe and bragging were right, then the red-haired man hadn't much slept in the past two weeks. Sanosuke could feel it. It was now a month gone since Shizuka's visit, and as far as Sanosuke knew, no one but he and Megumi knew that anything bad might have come from this gift.

He knew that Kenshin knew something was up with him though. What had been slid by a week before as blooming relationship between himself and the lady doctor had since been shot down. Loudly and by both of them. Sano could see where the confusion had come from though. He sure spent a lot of time at the clinic and with Megumi since he told her about what was going on. She was really worried about him. He really couldn't see why. He was tired, hungry and a bit bruised and banged up, but it wasn't like he was in mortal danger.

Even though Yahiko and Kaoru had picked up on the joke, Kenshin wasn't accusing them of being a couple any longer. When Sanosuke stopped by of the last couple of days, Kenshin had asked each time if he was feeling well. Sano wondered if he looked that crappy or if Kenshin was that sharp. After a long moment of thought, he decided Kenshin was just that aware. Right now that sucked. And so, for the past two days, Sanosuke and done his very best to avoid getting caught in a private conversation with Kenshin.

It was weird avoiding his best friend like that, and for the first time he felt a twinge of guilt about covering up what Kenshin's 'gift' really was. How could Sano possibly tell the rurouni that he would feel so much better if Kenshin would only start sleeping and eating again. It wasn't affecting Kenshin, why should it for any plausible reason worry Sanosuke? Maybe he could plead his worry for Kenshin's future health. Or maybe he could just avoid any deep and meaningful conversations until Kenshin gave up his curiosity about Sano's relative health.

Yeah, that sounded like workable plan.

Dark eyes slid shut once more and the sound of the birds and the clash of wooden swords lulled the young man back down into sleep. It felt as though only a few moments had passed when he was roused by a gentle hand on his shoulder. A glance a the position of the sun had him guessing that about two hours had passed. Only the sounds of nature echoed through the yard, and the foot traffic from outside the dojo gates. Training must have finished up then.

Turning his head, Sano found himself looking into the decidedly concerned face of Himura Kenshin. "Hey. Guess I caught up on my shut-eye there."

Kenshin nodded, slipping his hand from Sano's shoulder and seating himself beside the younger man on the porch. "It would seem that your afternoon naps have become a daily routine lately, Sano."

Which was true enough. But what could Sanosuke do? He was tired enough lately that whenever he sat still too long he fell asleep. It was becoming a running joke with his gambling buddies who all assumed he must have a woman on the side keeping him up late at nights. "Yeah. I guess I should gamble less and sleep more, huh?"

Kenshin ignored Sano's smile. The unfortunate part about being good friends with Kenshin and being able to read through his masks was that Kenshin could also see through Sano's fake smiles. "Please, Sano. No more of this. This one desires only to know the truth."

For a moment, Sanosuke froze, face straight and peeking at Kenshin from the corners of his eyes. He wondered if Kenshin had figured him out. He wondered how much trouble he was in. "About what?"

"Your health, Sano."

Sanosuke's eyes focused fully on the empty yard before them. "What do you wanna know?"

Kenshin's hand landed lightly on his arm, urging the younger man to look him in the eyes. After a moment, Sanosuke obliged him. "About why you and Megumi-dono insist on speaking in circles about things that both of you would normally be direct about. This one asks why you are so tired and both of you deflect with gambling habits. This one asks why you have been suffering so many small bruises and cuts and you both defer to a sudden bout of clumsiness. You are not a clumsy man and you do not gamble every night. Sano, are you ill?"

"No! No, Kenshin, I'm all right. I mean, yeah, I've been pretty tired, I'm not denying that. And yeah I've gotten kinda clumsy lately, but who isn't when they're tired?"

"Then why is Megumi-dono so concerned for your health?"

Unable to break eye contact with the red-haired man, Sano puffed out a small breath and told as near the truth as he could. "She doesn't like that I'm so tired lately. Its bothering her. But she's found nothing else wrong with me. So, she's taken to feeding me instead."

Kenshin sighed and nodded. "Your appetite is at least quite healthy, that it is. Are you certain you feel well otherwise?"

Sanosuke grinned. "Yeah, healthy as a horse, Kenshin."

And in that Sanosuke was telling the entire truth. It reflected in his eyes and in his posture and Kenshin smiled in return at him. "This one is pleased to hear that. Come inside then Sano. Megumi-dono and Kaoru-dono have begun working on dinner. I thought perhaps we could share a drink."

"Oh," Sano drawled his face brightening at the prospect, "Jou-chan let you into the sake supply, did she? I'm all in for that!"

Kenshin laughed. "This one thought perhaps you would be."

Which was how Sanosuke found himself on his feet and happily trailing Kenshin into the main house. Yahiko looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor attending to his wooden sword. "Man, your roused the sleeping beast out there, huh? I guess Megumi was keeping him up too late again last night!"

"Che," Sano responded with an off-handed wave, "You'd be amazed how long that lady doctor can lecture at a guy."

Yahiko batted his eyes in an exaggerated way and made a few crude gestures with his hands, "Oh, lecturing, I'm sure that's exactly whats going on with you two!"

Sanosuke grunted and leaned down to pop the boy hard on the head. "Watch yourself kid! And who the hell is teaching you this stuff anyway? I thought I was the only one around here corrupting you."

Yahiko snorted even as he rubbed his crown. "C'mon Sanosuke, I was corrupted before I ever met you. Supper isn't done yet, by the way."

Kenshin interrupted then, a small amused smile on his lips. "This one invited Sano in for a drink."

The boy smiled brightly, leaping up from the floor and tucking his wooden sword at his back. "Oh, a drink, that sounds great!"

This time Sanosuke snorted. "Let me go find the ink brushes first, I'd like 'em handy to draw on you after you pass out from your first cup of sake."

"Hey, I can hold my liquor like a man. And this is a drink among men right? So c'mon, lets have one!"

Sano and Kenshin cast each other a quick grin as Yahiko lead them to the sitting room. Kenshin disappeared long enough to find a couple of jugs of sake and three cups before joining the other two. The rurouni filled the three cups and raised his own for a toast of sorts. "To friends and," Kenshin sent a brief glance at Yahiko even as a smile touched his lips, "to drinks among men."

Yahiko missed the subtle bout of sarcasm from Kenshin and with a whoop of approval, downed his cup, refilled, and repeated. Sanosuke and Kenshin each drank their own at a slower pace and watched as Yahiko's face turned a bright red. With a couple of sputtering coughs, Yahiko groaned and leaped to his feet. Sanosuke started laughing as the boy bolted out into the yard and to the privy. He was likely puking back up those two cups of sake.

Kaoru stepped into the room then, no doubt curious about Yahiko darting across the yard and Sanosuke laughing away. "What did you two do to Yahiko? Wait did you let him drink again? You remember what happened last time!"

Kenshin held up a quelling hand. "Mah mah, Kaoru-dono. Yahiko was insistent on joining us, that he was."

Sanosuke subdued himself enough to chuckle, "And I don't think he's going to pass out this time. He's too busy chucking it up."

Kaoru harrumphed and placed her hands on her hips. "Honestly, I expect this kind of instigation from you, Sanosuke! I'm amazed that you went along with it though Kenshin."

Megumi leaned through the kitchen door at this point, a spatula in one hand and her hair bound back from her face. "Oh leave them be, Kaoru-chan. Yahiko will survive it, your vegetables on the counter may not, however, unless you get back in here and finish dicing them!"

Sanosuke chuckled at this as well even as Kaoru grumbled and disappeared back into the kitchen. Kenshin and Sanosuke shared a couple of slow cups of sake over light conversation. Yahiko eventually rejoined them, all though he refused any more sake despite Sanosuke's continued encouragement. With in the hour, the women had finished dinner and joined the rest in eating the evening meal.

"You two have great timing," Sanosuke enthused around a mouthful of curry, "I was starving. And this is pretty good, Kitsune must have done the seasoning."

The young man barely dodged in time to avoid a low flying chopstick form Kaoru. "You lousy freeloading bum! Picking on my cooking while eating my food. And 'starving', I swear all you do right now is eat and sleep, your always 'starving!' Do you even do anything around here to earn that? Kenshin does the laundry and helps with the cooking and cleaning and he's not even eating anything right now. You should think about that before you open your big mouth!"

Sanosuke stared at the younger woman for a dumbstruck moment. She usually indulged him his insolence, this time the response was heartfelt. Strangely, it was Megumi who came to his defense. "I don't care whether Ken-san thinks he needs to eat or not, I say he would be better off doing so. As he is refusing right now, what harm is there in letting the rooster eat his fill? And while that may have been an insult of sorts, that was a fairly mild insult for this idiot. What is bothering you about that?"

Kaoru frowned, lips thinning. "I find it annoying. Sanosuke has always done his best to be a useless freeloader around here, but this sleeping all the time and sudden spike in eating habits to go along with being a lazy bum is going too far. You can only expect so much of friendly hospitality. He doesn't do anything around here!"

Megumi slammed her tea cup on the floor, rattling the bowls there. "He is doing more for this household than you think right now!"

Sanosuke swallowed his mouthful of sake hard, wide eyed and looking suddenly in a horrified way at Megumi. "Uh, no no, Kitsune, she's right, I'm a useless bum, that's all."

Megumi turned and glared hard at him. Sanosuke read the challenge, she was ready to spill all right there about the truth of Kenshin's gift in order to defend him. Sanosuke stared her right back down. He was willing to take the hit to his pride and reputation, for what ever that was, in order to continue to cover the nature of Kenshin's gift. Finally, Megumi relented she sat back and finished her cup of tea before grumbling, "You're an idiot, rooster."

Sanosuke offered her a crooked smile. "I know."

Kenshin watched this exchange with questioning eyes, but it was Kaoru who threw up her hands in exasperation. "I just don't understand the lover's quarrels between you two right now. But, fine, I'll let the lazy bum off the hook today. I'm thinking Yahiko is right and that it is Megumi-san who is keeping Sanosuke up all night and tired all day anyway!"

Sanosuke and Megumi both groaned loudly and in sync, which sent Yahiko and Kaoru into fits of laughter. Kenshin smiled slightly but still watched Sano with a certain air of suspicion. They continued with their meal in relative peace, though Kenshin ate nothing. He and Sano shared a few more cups of sake between them. Sanosuke noted with interest that, strangely, after just four cups of sake he was feeling ever so slightly tipsy. It usually took more for him to feel it. All the same, he shrugged the sensation off and helped himself to seconds on dinner.

After the meal, Megumi and Kaoru cleared the dishes and enlisted Yahiko to help with washing them. Kenshin shifted to sit opposite of Sanosuke and grabbed both of the jugs of sake. With steady hands, he uncorked the untouched jug and poured enough into the first jug to equal the two out. One he handed to Sano, the other he kept for himself. "This one thought perhaps we could enjoy a small competition?"

Sanosuke grinned widely, settling himself into a comfortable cross legged position and getting a firm grip on the jug. "Your on, Kenshin."

Both men tipped the jugs up and began chugging the contents with vigor. Near half way through the jug, Sanosuke pulled it from his mouth for a quick breather. Swiping a hand across his lips, the younger man hand to put the hand down to steady himself. Starring cross eyed at his half empty jug, Sanosuke realized with a start that he was drunk. Not just tipsy, but defiantly drunk. With only this much sake?

Sanosuke looked back up at Kenshin, who was at this rate going to beat him in their drinking contest. With a spike of pride, Sanosuke tipped his jug back up, determined to at least try to keep up with Kenshin. Adam's apple bobbing, Kenshin emptied his own sake with a sigh, dropping the jug beside him and grinning in victory as Sanosuke finished his own just behind. "Your loosing your touch, Sano."

Sanosuke grunted in agreement, noting that Kenshin didn't so much as have a drunken blush on his cheeks. As for himself, Sano could feel the blush rising and burning through his own cheeks. The sake was hitting him right now and hard. And didn't seem to have affected Kenshin at all. "I guess I'm off my game tonight."

Sanosuke grimaced slightly, did he just slur that a little bit? Kenshin's raised eyebrows at him suggested he may have. Head canted slightly, Kenshin asked, "Sano, are you drunk? On one jug?"

Staring back at Kenshin with the sort of morbid interest only the inebriated could conjure, Sanosuke replied stupidly. "Yeah, I think maybe I am."

The women and Yahiko returned to the sitting room then and as they seated themselves they watched the two men. Kaoru shook her head. "You two drank my sake up. Or maybe, it looks like Sano drank most of it!"

Kenshin smiled. "Yes, we did, however, we drank equal portions. Sano lost the contest tonight."

"And now I'm drunk," Sanosuke agreed.

Megumi shook her head. "Kenshin, you drank a bottle of sake and you don't even look slightly flushed. Do you feel at all tipsy?"

Kenshin thought for a moment, his face slid into a neutral expression. "No, this one is feeling nothing of the alcohol. My apologies, Sano, this was perhaps not a fair contest. The supposed gift this one possess seems to neutralize even drunkenness."

Sanosuke blinked at him, his inebriated mind slowly pulling the puzzle together. That damned gift again. Kenshin couldn't even get properly drunk as it was. And Sanosuke... Well that explained why he was feeling so very drunk so quickly, he was feeling the effects of two jugs of sake drunk at once. And wow was it a rush!

"Nah, man, s'okay. The drinkin 's the fun part."

Yahiko snorted, watching Sano. "And the way your swaying where you sit Sanosuke, I'd say it was some pretty good sake that Kenshin is missing the effects of."

Kaoru laughed. "Your the one who threw it up right away, Yahiko, I'd think you'd know!"

"Shut up, ugly!"

"Hey!"

Megumi stood then, having not been seated long. Coming to Sanosuke's side she interrupted the argument by grasping the younger man's shoulder. "Time to get you home then, I'll walk you so you don't wind up face first in a river on the way there."

Sanosuke brushed off her hand and made a valiant attempt at standing up right on his own. "I can walk m'self you know. I'ma big boy."

He was nearly upright when he swayed abruptly to the left, Megumi caught his elbow even as Kenshin himself rose to help Sano out. "Yes," Megumi replied sarcastically, "I can see that you'll do a wonderful job on your own."

Sanosuke wasn't totally beyond sarcasm and he grinned ruefully at the lady doctor even as he waved off Kenshin's help. "I'd be fine if th' ground would hold still. I guess I might use the company tho'?"

Megumi snorted. "Then company I will provide."

Kenshin stood to the side, obviously eager to lend a hand. "This one will join you, if you would like it."

Sanosuke wondered if that might be a good idea, as his sense of balance seemed to be going further astray as the alcohol was hitting his blood stream. Megumi obviously thought other wise. He wondered how well she would do carrying his dead-weight through Tokyo. "No thank you, Ken-san. I'll take care of him."

Turning to Kaoru, Megumi continued, "Thank you for sharing dinner with me tonight, Kaoru-chan."

Kaoru was on her feet as well by now, along with Yahiko. The girl dipped a brief bow back to Megumi. "No, Megumi-san, thank you for helping to make dinner. Good luck getting this big lug home."

Kenshin stepped up, a hand on Sanosuke's other arm as he swayed again. "You are sure, Megumi-dono? It would be no trouble at all for this one to help."

Megumi smiled back at him. "Positive, Ken-san. I trust this big idiot to keep his feet long enough to get back to his apartment."

Despite that, Kenshin did wind up helping as far as to get Sanosuke's shoes on his feet, which Sano felt was a good thing. He nearly fell on his face off the porch getting them on. With farewells at hand, he and Megumi set off with him doing his best to stay up right and and walk and Megumi steering him. Kenshin had closed the dojo gate behind them and they had walked a good block before Megumi said a word to Sanosuke.

"You really are an idiot, you know."

Sanosuke blinked hazily at her in the dark. He was dizzy and getting tired again and his concentration had been all on his walking. "Yeah, I know."

Megumi continued in a brisk, agitated tone. "What did you think would happen, honestly? Of course Ken-san can't get drunk. Of course you would get doubly so. Why would you think a drinking contest is a good idea?"

"Kenshin wanted to, I wen' with it."

The lady doctor growled under her breath. "Your damn lucky I didn't let him take you home. As though he doesn't suspect something is funny. How do you explain a sudden bout of drunkenness from one jug of sake to him? And not just any drunkenness, but completely, stumbling, slurring drunk."

Sanosuke shrugged, which caused him to stumble and drag them both three feet off course. "Didn't much think about it, I guess."

"Do you think at all? I wonder, you want to keep this a secret but sometimes you advertise it so blatantly that... oh, lets go to the side of the road if your going to do that!"

Megumi must have seen the sickness in his face as she pulled him staggering to the side of the road just in time for him to drop to his knees and puke in the bushes there. After heaving for a few moments, Sanosuke groaned and sat back. "I feel like shit."

Megumi nodded. "I imagine you do. Get up, we're not there yet."

Megumi dragged and pulled him back into an upright position. Sanosuke willed his belly to settle and the world to stop heaving even as he allowed the lady doctor to continue to lead him. "This isn't the way to my house," he noted belatedly.

Megumi snorted. "You really are very drunk. No, we are going to the clinic where I am going to set you up with a futon for the night."

"Why?"

The lady doctor eyed him side ways. "I'm sure you've heard of men killing themselves from drinking too much alcohol at once. I'd rather not see it happen to you. I don't know if you have or have not, but I'd prefer at least that you don't choke on your own vomit in your sleep tonight."

Sanosuke digested that for a long moment before grinning sloppily at Megumi. "Oh. You really do care about me."

Megumi laughed. "I care enough that I'd rather not see you dead, anyway!"

The decision turned out to be a good one, as Sanosuke passed out shortly after reaching the clinic. He woke enough to throw up several times through the night and into the next day before settling into a steady sleep the following after noon. Never before had he been so sick from drink, and both he and Megumi hoped that it would never happen again.

To be continued.

~\~

Author's Ramble:

So, I thought it might be interesting to see that it is not just Kenshin's injuries that Sanosuke has to deal with, but his hunger, exhaustion and any poisons that might get into his system (including alcohol.) And that Kenshin is aware that something very strange is going on.

And I realize its true of all of my stories, but I feel a sudden compulsive desire to apologize for all of the conversation I write in. I rely heavily on facial expressions and things the characters talk about to drive a story, I know that that doesn't work for everyone. I guess though, if you really didn't like it, you would have stopped reading this story by now!

Thank you to those who have continued reading this so far, and a welcoming wave to those just starting. Let me know if there is something off that I should change or something you'd like to see show up in the course of this story.

Thanks,

DoC


	5. Blood and Secrets

The Cost of Protection

A Rurouni Kenshin Story

Chapter Five: Blood and Secrets

Really it was inevitable. Secrets always come out eventually, especially the big ones.

It was early afternoon some two weeks after the drinking incident. Sanosuke and the dojo group had gone out for lunch at the Akebeko, on Kaoru's budget of course. They were on their way back to the dojo as the heavy clouds above began to loose a smattering of rain. There was a note of laughter among them as Kaoru and Yahiko tried to cover their heads and run through it. Kenshin, Megumi, and Sanosuke himself took the more dignified route of getting rained on without waiving their arms about in the air.

Well, for Sanosuke's part at least, it had more to do with a lack of energy to either create an arm umbrella or go needlessly running through the rain. He was too tired to care about getting wet. He was however not so tired that he didn't appreciate the humor of watching the youngest two.

"Oh," Kaoru complained as she jogged, "I was hoping we'd get home before it rained."

Megumi huffed, somehow managing to look regal even as she was getting soaked through. "Kaoru-chan, it mystifies me that you think you can out run the rain now that we have stepped into it."

"I don't think I can out run it, I think I'd rather get home faster and be out of it."

"Oh? And won't you be just as wet either way?"

"Ugg," Kaoru groaned as she slowed to walk with the others, "That's not the point!"

Continuing on ahead of the rest, Yahiko called over his shoulder, "I don't care what you guys are doing, I'll be in and dry before you even set foot through the gate!"

And at the rate he was running ahead of them, Yahiko may well have made good on his threat if they wouldn't have all been distracted. An abrupt yell for help from a nearby alley had Kenshin and Sanosuke veering off course and running themselves toward the disturbance. Likely the other three turned to follow, but Sanosuke couldn't be sure as he kept pace with Kenshin to where they had heard the call.

What they found was a somewhat portly young man who was being beaten by a group of five men. They looked like they belonged to one of Tokyo's street gangs, though Sanosuke was hard pressed to say which right then. The poor man was defiantly out numbered and out matched. However, the gang members were the ones that were over matched as the two men arrived on the scene.

Kenshin came in with his reverse-blade sword swinging and Sanosuke hot on his heels. The fight was brief, but it was enough for Sano to quickly realize that he had not gotten into a fight in some weeks and that this was a good thing. His reflexes were slow, his mind sluggish in keeping up with the combat. It was a very good thing that the fight was only with street thugs instead of with well trained fighters, or Sanosuke had a sneaking suspicion he might have lost.

Sanosuke punched the last of the group hard in his jaw and watched the man collapse. With a sigh, he leaned against a nearby wall and watched Kenshin checking on the man they had rescued. The guy was offering all kinds of thanks and Sano was quickly under the impression that they should have let him get beaten enough to shut up when they rescued him. Yahiko and the girls showed up to ask after the man; Megumi quickly assessing the man for injuries.

The ex fighter-for-hire tuned them out as he leaned ever more heavily against the wall. Sanosuke's eyes slowly slid closed as he decided this would be as good a time as any to snag a quick nap. Even the rain couldn't keep him awake after that burst of energy.

That's how it came as a total shock for him to hear a sudden and frightened call from Kenshin. "No, SANO!"

Brown eyes snapped open in time to see the smaller rurouni collide with him. Senses snapped back into focus in time to be aware of the bang of gunfire from the back corner of the alley. Kenshin's unexpected body weight thrown fully at him toppled them both to the ground, Sano's back pressed against the alley wall.

Fire erupted in Sanosuke's back and shoulder.

Sanosuke grunted, barely biting off a low moan as his left shoulder burned in agony. He was aware of the sticky warmth of blood welling from his back and soaking quickly into his jacket. Kenshin was all ready on his feet an darting toward the gunman. The angry rurouni brought his sakabatou down hard on the offender's wrist breaking it before he could fire another round from the pistol.

He was one of the guys Sano had first hit. He should have still been out cold, not recovering a pistol from somewhere and having time to shoot it. Sanosuke closed his eyes and pressed his right hand to the wound on his back as best he could. Maybe this gift was a problem, if Sano couldn't even be trusted to take down a weakling opponent in a fight in his current state of health.

Maybe he deserved this agony, even if the bullet hadn't ever actually touched his own flesh. The hole blown into the back left shoulder of Kenshin's magenta hakama was proof of that.

Kenshin took a few moments to glare around at the other four street gang members as the lay in various slouched positions in the alley. None moved, even those who were awake. The man they had rescued cried out hysterically at the gun shot and Kenshin's response to it.

"Y-you! You've been shot and your not even bleeding," The man cried in a terrified horror, "Are you some kind of monster?"

In the ultimate show of appreciation, the frightened man stood, pulling away from Megumi's steadying grip, and ran as fast as his stout legs would carry him from the alley. Sanosuke was aware of Kenshin's head dipping, his long wet fringe covering his eyes. Kaoru turned concerned eyes toward him. "Kenshin, you're not monster," she was quick to assure, "You saved that poor man, even if he is too rude to say so. You saved Sanosuke too!"

Yahiko approached Kenshin as well. "Yeah, you were great. And you can't even be hurt by bullets! I say that's super human, not monstrous."

Kenshin sagged a little under their encouragement, his head coming back up to meet their eyes. Yahiko grinned, "Come on, your doing way better than Sanosuke anyway. We wouldn't have found out bullets don't effect you either if this lazy bum hadn't have fallen asleep standing up over here."

At which point Megumi hissed her eyes going wide and turning sharply on the young man still sitting on the ground. "Sanosuke!"

The lady doctor closed the space between them in a few quick strides and was kneeling on the ground beside Sanosuke before he could quite register what was going on. She pulled him up into a completely seated position, his legs sprawled before him and his shoulders hunched. Pulling his left shoulder away from the wall, Megumi forced him to lean forward, her nimble hands already pulling his jacket from flesh and exploring the bloody wound in his back.

Kenshin focused quickly on Sanosuke. Eyes taking in the blood, widening in confusion. Kaoru and Yahiko were equally baffled. Kaoru stepped forward, immediate concern on her features. "What, Sanosuke is hurt? I thought Kenshin took the shot?"

Yahiko suggested slowly, "Maybe the bullet went through Kenshin and hit Sanosuke too?"

Sanosuke glanced up through his eyelashes and saw a very dark look crossing Kenshin's face. They both knew without a doubt that the bullet had not gone all the way though. It had lodged itself in the rurouni's shoulder, preventing an exit wound for either one of them. But if the bullet was still burrowed in Kenshin's shoulder, and only one shot was fired, it certainly must have brought an idea home to Kenshin.

Megumi was busy dismissing the speculations of the other two. "It doesn't really matter right now how it happened. Someone help me get him up. We need to get him out of this rain and someplace where I can work on this wound properly. Now!"

Kenshin stepped forward, eyes dark. "This one will help. Lets go to the dojo, its closer than the clinic."

Megumi pulled Sanosuke's jacket off fully, giving him an apologetic look as she folded it and pressed the white fabric tightly against his wound. Sanosuke hissed at the pressure, but didn't say anything even as Kenshin pulled him to his feet and tucked himself under Sano's right shoulder for support. Violet eyes looked up to meet pained brown eyes. Softly for Sanosuke's ears only, Kenshin murmured, "While Megumi-dono is seeing to your wound, Sano, we will talk. And this time, we will speak of everything."

~/~

"There's so much blood..."

Kaoru said this with a decidedly worried tone, her gaze on Sanosuke's back, her arms laden with towels.

Megumi nodded, her focus never truly leaving the task at hand. "It looks worse than it is at the moment because of the rain water."

Sanosuke himself grimaced as Megumi continued to dab and prod at his back. He said nothing. What could he say with a towel over his head and a hole in his back? He didn't dare to even put on a brave front and crack wise about the situation. He couldn't, not with the blazing furnace of Kenshin's ire focused on him as it was.

Okay, so Kenshin hadn't out and said it yet, but Sano was pretty sure that the older man knew the secret of his gift now. Despite the close position the two had had as Kenshin helped steady Sano on the way back to the dojo, the man's posture had been absolutely rigid. After his warning to Sano, he had said barely three words to any one of them. Sanosuke had attempted to meet Kenshin's eyes twice more, and had dropped his gaze fast in both instances.

Kenshin was pissed.

"Kaoru-chan, I'll need more bandaging and another lamp. Yahiko-kun, run to the clinic and ask Gensai-sensei to make a wound poultice to bring back. Ken-san, be prepared with the alcohol wash when I ask it."

Sanosuke pulled the towel off his head with a shake of his now damp hair as the two in question ran to accomplish both of their errands. He eyed Megumi over his shoulder as she prepared her small surgery knife and sewing needle and thread by running them each through a basin of alcohol. She dunked her hands in the same basin. Her hair was bound back from her face and her mouth set in a focused frown. She noticed him watching and nodded to him. "Hold still, Rooster. This will hurt, but I'll need to stitch together both your shoulder muscle and the skin itself. Do you want something to bite on?"

The younger man shook his head, gripping the wet towel tightly in his right hand. "Nah, just do what you gotta do, lady doctor."

Megumi shrugged, picked up her needle and with delicate precision pulled back his skin slightly and began stitching the muscle of his left shoulder. Sanosuke puffed out a low moan as she stretched his abused flesh and began sewing it back together. He grit his teeth as Kenshin bathed the wound in an alcohol rinse when Megumi asked it, clearing the blood away long enough for her to see again.

"How long have the two of you been aware of this?"

The question from Kenshin caught both of the other two in the room off guard. Sanosuke felt Megumi's hands still for a long moment at his back. Sano himself ventured, "Been aware of what?"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed and Sanosuke found himself looking away from the other man yet again. "Don't, Sano. This one has known for sometime that something has been wrong with you. This one has suspected it had something to do with Shizuka-dono's gift. This one thought perhaps Sanosuke's health was being sacrificed for his own, however... This one did not know how direct that sacrifice has been."

Sanosuke cringed, more from Kenshin's line of conversation than from Megumi picking up on her stitching again. "Its... its not quite what you think, Kenshin..."

Kenshin splashed alcohol on Sanosuke's wound with vigor, the younger man hissed slightly. "Its not, is it? Are you going to say that every wound this one takes is not being directly inflicted on you?"

"I, well, yes. But Kenshin..."

Kenshin caught his eyes, refusing to allow Sanosuke to drop his own to the floor this time. Sanosuke's words trailed off. "How long have you known?"

The younger man grimaced. "That day. I knew it when that Shizuka lady did it."

"And you said nothing to this one. You in fact, hid it."

"Kenshin I..."

But Kenshin had all ready turned from him, his attention on the lady doctor. "And you, Megumi-dono, how long have you known?"

Sanosuke sat up a little straighter at this, wincing as Megumi had to adjust with him. His back hurt like hell and Kenshin was angry with him, but that was no reason for him not to stand up for Megumi. "Aw, Kenshin, leave her be. Kitsune had nothing to do with this."

But Kenshin steadfastly ignored him. Sanosuke heard Megumi sigh behind him. "The fight after Shizuka-san's visit. I found out while attending to Sanosuke's knife wound. Your knife wound."

"And you let him continue this way? This one has been unknowingly injuring Sano for a month and a half and you have seen no reason to step in?"

Megumi tensed, pulling a little bit too hard on her thread. Sanosuke groaned. "I have stepped in, Ken-san. I have been tending all of his injuries, I have been keeping watch over him daily. As you yourself have noticed, I might add."

"You did not tell this one."

"The Rooster... he made a very good argument that night while I attended his knife cut."

Kenshin's voice lowered, it came out as something of a growl. "What argument could possibly..."

Sanosuke intruded into the conversation then, tired of the accusing tone. "Protecting you! Kenshin, I realized that with this gift, with me taking all of your injuries, that I could protect you. I convinced Megumi to help me in this, to help me protect you. And you, you feel great, don't you? Then its been working!"

"This one does not require protecting, and most certainly not at this cost! This one would prefer that Sanosuke would be healthy and whole in his own right!"

Sanosuke tried to gesture at Kenshin, which pulled at his shoulder and caused Megumi to slap him on the back. After a moment to clear the pain, Sano tried again. "Its not so big a sacrifice or burden as you think Kenshin. I'm happy knowing that your always okay."

"This one is not happy knowing he is harming you!"

Megumi huffed loudly then. "Would you to both knock it off and let me finish this? You can pick up your argument again when this big idiot is stitched and bandaged!"

This of course returned Kenshin's attention to her, unapologetic, he continued, "And you, Megumi-dono. I would expect Sano to follow this kind of thought line, though it still makes this one angry. Why have you gone along with it? Obviously you both knew it would displease this one to find out or you would not have hidden the true nature of this gift as you have!"

"Of course I knew it would upset you," Megumi bit out, pounding her free hand on Sano's back for emphasis. He flinched even as she continued. "Of course we both knew. We also knew you wouldn't behave as you usually would if you knew. I wanted... We wanted for you to live happily and pain free for some time at least. For all that you do for those around you, it seemed fair to take the physical burden from you with out also lying the moral obligation on your shoulders."

Sanosuke added in, "We wanted you to go on protecting people with out suffering as much, Kenshin. And I could do that for you with this 'gift.' But I knew you'd go about life as though you were walking on egg shells if you knew what was happening..."

"And this one would have! Sano, how is your health any less important than this one's own? This one wishes that you and all of his friends would be as happy and healthy as they could be, which is why this one has dedicated his life to protecting loved ones so."

Sanosuke set his jaw on this. "I am happy protecting you Kenshin! You want me happy, you have it right now! And as for your health being more important than mine, well... maybe it is Kenshin."

Megumi shrugged behind him, very quietly supporting him in this. "He's right, Ken-san. You do so much for the people of this dojo, this city even. Your important..."

Kenshin's mouth opened and closed briefly, shock registering in his widening eyes. "No! No, this one will not have you saying such things, either of you! You wish to save this one by sacrificing Sano because you think he is less important? You have both honestly come to this conclusion? No man's life or health is more important than that of another. Sano does good for others as well, he is just not as well recognized for it. Sano protects this one in his own right by watching this one's back in combat and providing friendship to one such as this. Sano is very important to this one and others and deserves the health and well being that should come so naturally to him."

Neither Sanosuke or Megumi offered anything into this silence. The younger man mentally disagreed with Kenshin's critique but refused to voice it against such adamant resolve. Megumi kept her thoughts to herself even as she once again picked up her sewing. Neither looked at the red head. Kenshin suffered this for a long moment before continuing on at a more conversational tone. "So how do we remove this 'gift?'"

Again, neither of the other two responded. Kenshin quickly grew impatient. "How?"

Sanosuke breathed out softly. "I don't know Kenshin. I don't get really how the old lady even did it. She didn't exactly pull me to the side and give me a set of directions to go with this."

"You are being honest this time, Sano?"

Sanosuke cast a brief, baleful, glance at Kenshin. "I've been honest with you all along."

"You have not told this one everything; a lie by omission is still a lie. This is truthfully all you know of the circumstances, just how this so called 'gift' work between us? Not how it began or how to end it?"

The younger man engaged the rurouni in a long look. "That's all I know Kenshin. I honestly don't know anything else."

Kenshin breathed out a long sigh, finally relaxing his shoulders. "Then we must figure it out, and soon. Shizuka-dono said that we could call her back, didn't she? We had wondered at the time why we would. She left no address, but perhaps..."

With that Kenshin stood, abandoning his rinsing job to step up to the door in the room that faced outside. He slid it open, allowing for a view of the gray and rainy day continuing outside. Cupping both hands to his mouth, Kenshin called loudly into the yard, "Shizuka-dono! We wish to call you back; to remove this curse of a gift!"

Both Sanosuke and Megumi stared at the rurouni as though he had lost his mind, each sharing an equally shocked and confused look. After several minutes Megumi called to him. "Ken-san, I don't think she's hiding in the yard. Come back in and close the door. We need to finish this before Sanosuke bleeds out."

Kenshin's shoulders sagged as he did as told. Returning to his position beside the to he continued with his job of washing away the blood. Sano sighed. "This sure is taking long enough for you to stitch."

Megumi huffed. "Honestly, if Ken-san would have better timing in getting to a moral argument with us, I'd have better luck. And, it seems as though each time I stitch up this section of your muscle tissue, it breaks back apart in moments. I can't imagine why, unless your flexing for fun?"

Kenshin looked between the two before his hand slid to his own left shoulder, rubbing at it. "Megumi-dono. The bullet is still in this one's shoulder. Could that be effecting your work?"

Megumi gasped slightly even as Sanosuke paled a bit at the idea. "Ken-san, you may be right! But then how do we take care of this..."

Sanosuke groaned, allowing his gritty eyes to slide shut and feel the pain throbbing through his shoulder. He suspected it was about to get a whole lot worse. "You cut the damn bullet out of Kenshin and then you finish stitching me. That's how we take care of this."

Kaoru returned to the room, her arms now loaded down with bandaging just in time to hear Megumi announce to Kenshin, "Take off your top Ken-san, I need to remove that bullet."

The younger woman blinked as Kenshin complied. "Why are you taking care of Kenshin now? Sanosuke is still bleeding and Kenshin is fine! And... did I just hear Kenshin calling for Shizuka-san outside?"

Kenshin shrugged. "She must remove the bullet from this one's shoulder in order to successfully stitch Sano's shoulder. Its something of a long story, but to be short, Shizuka-dono's supposed gift inflicts all of this one's injuries on Sano. Sano cannot heal until the offending object is out of this one."

Kaoru stared, her eyes darting quickly between Sanosuke and Kenshin. "Wait. Sanosuke is actually taking these injuries that haven't been bothering you? All of them? All along?"

Megumi cut her off, handing her one of the towels she had left before. "Press this tightly to Sanosuke's shoulder. Keep a constant pressure. The bleeding will increase while I cut this from Ken-san. Rooster, you may want to lie down. I'm not sure how much more blood you will loose from this, but you may begin to feel dizzy soon."

Sanosuke grunted and complied, lying flat out on his stomach. Jou-chan stepped in and pressed the towel firmly to his left shoulder. "You guys are serious," she noted with a small amount of fear in her voice, "Kenshin will be fine and this will hurt Sanosuke? But then, all of those miraculous times Kenshin has healed right away... Sanosuke has taken those cuts and bruises? His sudden bout of clumsiness... you really weren't being clumsy, were you Sanosuke?"

Sanosuke hummed in agreement. Lying as he was with his eyes closed, he was dangerously close to falling asleep despite the pain still flaring in his shoulder. He was tired to begin with, and now the blood loss and the emotional argument with Kenshin were conspiring against him. He suspected it wasn't over between himself and Kenshin on the topic. Kenshin was just being kind enough to let them get this done before he picked it up again. "Sometimes I've been clumsy, but mostly not, Jou-chan."

Megumi pressed her sharpened surgery knife to Kenshin's skin, "Hold still please, Ken-san, I'll make this quick. Brace yourself, Roster-head."

"Mmm," Sanosuke acknowledged.

And then Megumi began cutting and Sanosuke was awake again in a moment. He groaned low and buried his head into the crook of his right arm as she continued to work. After a matter of minutes, she had dug the bullet from Kenshin and sat back with a sigh. The wound healed nearly as fast Megumi removed her tools. There had been no blood.

Kenshin was already sitting up, very concerned eyes turned toward Sanosuke. Kaoru called urgently, "Megumi-san, please hurry and finish stitching Sanosuke. He's bleeding through the towel!"

Sanosuke was aware of Kenshin and Megumi scrambling toward them, Megumi swearing under her breath. His world faded out as Megumi began barking instructions to the two. He'd be hard pressed later to tell you if he passed out or just finally fell asleep.

To be continued.

~\~

Author's Ramble:

Thank you for the kind reviews everyone! I appreciate all of your opinions and ideas and I'm so very glad that your willing to share them. Also, I'd like to say thank you for reading to those who have not reviewed. I know your out there, because I have the same amount of story alerts for this piece that I do reviews, and not all from the same people. :-P

Well, we were all wondering when Kenshin would figure it out, weren't we? There it is. But I agree with Sano, I don't think he and Kenshin are done hashing this whole argument out yet. Not to mention... how ARE they going to get rid of this gift? Hmm, I wonder ;-)

Thanks,

DoC


	6. A Look into the Soul

**The Cost of Protection**

A Rurouni Kenshin Story

Chapter Six: A look into the Soul

Sanosuke woke slowly, vision blurry and arms numb from obviously having laid on them too long. His left shoulder was an aching mass of abused flesh and muscle, but the discomfort was distant in a way that suggested the lady doctor had dosed him with something for the pain. He rolled himself up from his stomach and over onto his right side with considerable effort. Only to be greeted by a wide, young set of brown eyes.

"Your awake. Do you need something, a drink of water or something? Megumi-san says you'll be thirsty after loosing that much blood."

Yahiko looked and sounded so very earnest about all of this, that had Sanosuke felt better he would have laughed at the boy. As it was, he croaked an agreement. "Water'd be good, yeah."

It was an awkward business sipping water from a cup held by an eleven-year old while lying on your side. The two of them managed it with very little mess though. Sano stretched out his right arm, flexing the rest of the stiffness from it before curling the appendage beneath his head and taking a better look around the room. There was one obvious point to note. "Where is everyone?"

Yahiko poured a second cup of water and sat it beside him as he tucked in his knees and faced Sanosuke. "Megumi is napping after having to work so long on you. She spent an hour stitching you up and trying to get you to drink while you were dead to the world! Ugly is working on supper. And Kenshin's also napping because he says it'll help you."

"Oh," was all Sanosuke could think to say to that as he gestured for the refilled water.

Yahiko again shifted to his knees and helped the older of the two drink. "Thanks," Sano offered.

"No problem," the boy quickly assured him, shifting a little on the wooden floor before looking for a long silent moment at Sano. "Is it true? Are you really getting hurt every time something happens to Kenshin?"

Yahiko looked for all the world as though he didn't want to believe it – as though he couldn't believe it. Sano supposed he understood. The boy had just been told his invincible hero was only so because a friend was taking the brunt of everything physical. The ex-gangster shrugged, and immediately regretted it for the tug on his left shoulder, before saying slowly, "Yeah, it is."

"So," the boy continued while fidgeting with the empty glass, "Nobody actually cut you in that fight on the street. You were bleeding because Kenshin had been hit."

"Yeah."

"And Kenshin getting shot actually got you shot?"

"Yup."

Yahiko scowled intensely into the cup before meeting Sano's eyes again. "And Kenshin napping will really help you?"

Sanosuke just stopped himself from shrugging again. "Can't hurt. I'd think if he starts keeping normal sleeping hours again, I'll be less tired."

"Because," the young swordsman continued, "You don't just get Kenshin's pain and stuff, you get the tiredness and his hunger too."

"Yeah," Sano softly agreed.

There was a long moment of silence between the two and Sano watched as the boy's eyes drifted to the rainy outdoors. "Why didn't you say anything, Sanosuke?"

Sano sighed and sought eye contact with his youngest friend. "Were you happy about Kenshin not getting hurt anymore?"

Yahiko nodded slowly, but affirmatively to this question. Sano continued, "Are you happy now that you know why?"

The boy scowled and shook his head no. Sano gestured lightly with his left hand, barely moving the wrist, "Well there you go. I was able to protect Kenshin and see you and Jou-chan happy. Why would I say anything?"

Yahiko set the cup on the floor and began doodling patterns on the wood with his finger. He answered in a round-about way. "Kenshin is pretty angry about it."

Sano huffed out a breath, feeling perversely grateful that the rurouni had gone down for a nap instead of staying awake to lecture him. "I know he is. Are you? Angry about my not saying anything?"

Yahiko finally lifted his eyes to meet Sanosuke's again. The boy straightened his back. "Not at you, I don't think. You just want to protect Kenshin. I'm mad at this 'gift' though. I don't ever want to see Kenshin hurt, but I don't really like seeing you hurt either. You look tired though, you should probably go back to sleep."

As though obeying a command, Sano's eyes slid closed and he drifted back into sleep while contemplating the boy's words.

~/~

Megumi silently mixed a medicinal powder into the weak tea she had prepared for her patient. Said patient watched her with half-lidded brown eyes and a sloppy sort of smile. "You trying to make me feel half-human again, Lady Doctor? Or just knock me out so I shut up."

The dark haired woman couldn't help but smile as well. "If I planned on knocking you out, Rooster, I would do it with a tree branch and a temper, not an herb."

"Good to know," Sanosuke drawled, "I'll work on my ducking skills."

Megumi shook her head as she helped Sano partially sit up and drink down his tea. The man was being surprisingly good tempered for the pain he was in and the weakness he must be feeling. She wondered if perhaps the herbal pain relievers she was feeding him were affecting his ability to notice how very thick the tension was in the dojo since his secret had come out.

"If you had conquered that skill, we wouldn't be in our current situation, now would we?"

"Come' on now, Lady Doctor. You can't fault a guy for napping. Which has nothing to do with my ducking, I'm pretty sure."

"Napping in an alley, surrounded by thugs, and standing up? That's okay these days, is it?"

The smile slid a little from the Sanosuke's lips, the humor fading from his eyes. "You and your sharp tongue don't really blame me for this, do you? You think I meant to get shot? Or have Kenshin get shot. Or both."

Megumi pinched the bridge of her nose even as she relaxed into a more comfortable position sitting beside the make-shift bed on the floor. She had only caught a nap after fighting to stitch Sanosuke back together, and had roused herself within two hours to check again on her patient. The stubborn man was fine, of course. Sleeping like the dead, but otherwise unfazed. She had passed a restless night of sleep that evening as well, her dreams constantly disturbed by seeing Kenshin getting shot. Only, in her dreams it was always Kenshin who was injured, and he always bled out before she could help him.

It was an odd affirmation of what she had done to help Sanosuke keep his secret. It was an odd way of proving how her heart favored the health of one man over the other.

Megumi felt a renewed pang of guilt at that, and let out a soft breath before answering Sano's question. "No, I don't really blame you. Your timing was terrible, Rooster, but it had to come out eventually."

"Yeah," the young man agreed, his eyes darkening with his mood. "Wasn't much choice about that, I guess. Sorry it got you into trouble with Kenshin, my asking you to help me out. I haven't seen the man since I woke up, but I'll guess he's given you a tongue lashing by now."

Megumi sighed, her shoulders slumping. "He hasn't, honestly. We haven't seen much of him since yesterday afternoon. Kenshin comes out for food, but otherwise has barred himself in his room and has made it clear he is not welcoming visitors. Its terribly out of character for him."

The woman hardly realized how pleading she sounded on the last sentence, but her patient gave her a certain understanding sort of look. "Kenshin's feeling angry and guilty all at once. Its a bad combination. I'm sure he just doesn't want to lash out and unintentionally hurt anyone."

They sat for several minutes of silence, Megumi lost in her own thoughts. Sanosuke broke in to her reverie with the thoughtful comment of, "You know, this whole thing, it really hasn't been so bad."

Megumi snorted despite herself, "Yes, I'm sure being exhausted, half starved, bruised, and shot are all fabulous and enjoyable moments in your life."

"No," Sanosuke said emphatically, "No I don't really mean those things. All though right up to the getting shot that wasn't terrible either. No. I mean I've gotten a pretty good chance to know you better out of this. Usually when we're in the same room we're like a couple of stray cats in a bag – hissing and spitting included. When your being your doctor self and I'm the patient though, then we get along all right. And with this extended crap, we've had a lot of time to just talk. Turns out, I might just like you yet."

Megumi couldn't help the way her shoulders stiffened or the slightly mortified blush that touched her cheeks. The Rooster could not possibly be saying what she thought he was saying. That would end in a horribly awkward way for both of them. And how was she to politely let the man down, anyway? "Sanosuke," she was very careful to use his given name in this, "You and I, a relationship really wouldn't work between us. As you said, when your not under the weather, we fight nearly constantly. It wouldn't do."

This time her patient snorted in amusement, though he cringed at the way the action pulled at his shoulder. "You think I'm dreaming of wedding ceremonies and kids? No, Kitsune, just no. I mean I like you as a friend. I guess I always have, but I like you a lot more when we're not at each others throats. That's it, that's all I meant."

Megumi relaxed with a soft chuckle herself. "Sorry, I had to be clear. That I can agree with. Maybe its something we can work on when we get this entire 'gift' thing cleared up."

Sanosuke turned knowing eyes on her, his lips quirked in a soft smile. "Except, you don't really want it gone, do you?"

The doctor froze, for though she had said nothing of her dreams or concerns, Sano had seen through her. Worse, he didn't even have the grace to take offense. "I don't know what your talking about. Really, the pain reliever should be kicking in, you should rest."

The young man chuckled to himself at this abrupt change of topic, but obediently shifted position and closed his eyes before dropping off to sleep. Megumi closed her medicine supplies and tidied the tea set to be brought back to the kitchen. It wasn't fair that the rooster-brained idiot could hit so close to home like that. And the more she thought about it, she wasn't sure if she liked this gift more because of how it saved Kenshin, or because it meant she became something of a permanent doctor to Sanosuke. That shouldn't be a bonus, she shouldn't enjoy having the young man under her care and her thumb the way she did.

Megumi quickly stood and escaped the room. She had some priority ordering to reevaluate.

~/~

It had been nearly three days since the shooting incident. Having helped sit the wounded man up against a soft backing of blankets, Kaoru was now working on feeding him. Picking up a dumpling with her chopsticks, Kaoru proffered the treat to Sanosuke. Who in turn scowled back at her. "I am perfectly capable of feeding myself, Jou-chan. If you'd quite being stubborn and pass me the bowl and chopsticks."

Kaoru sighed, sitting back on her heels, positioned as she was beside the injured, and now ornery, man. "It didn't bother you yesterday. Or the day before that."

"I was half drugged the last two days," Sanosuke huffed, "Not much of anything was bothering me. Would you just give me those damn chopsticks?"

The young woman lifted her chin and gave a defiant look back at her charge. "No, I will not. I am taking care of you. And I am feeding you these dumplings!"

"I know Kenshin isn't letting you in to see him," Sanosuke half hissed at her. "This 'gift' doesn't work like that, Jou-chan. Your taking care of me is not vicariously taking care of him. Not like you think. I'm not Kenshin no matter how I'm now attached to him and I would really appreciate it if you would quit looking at me as though I were."

Kaoru dropped the dumpling back in the dish, setting the bowl on the floor and biting her lip. It wasn't true, was it? She wasn't so intent on looking after Sano just because Kenshin wouldn't see her? She wanted to look after Sanosuke as well. He was her friend, she had the right to want to take care of him. The fact that he thought otherwise stung. "I know your not Kenshin, Sanosuke. Can't I just want to take care of you?"

Her response was a low sigh and one large bandaged right hand coming to rest on her shoulder. "Sorry, Jou-chan. That was pretty uncalled for. Thanks for caring. I know you do, its what you do best. Take in strays and look after them, you know? I just hate feeling this useless. I can't go anywhere, I can't do anything, the very least I'd like to do is feed myself. You can watch, if it'll make you feel better about my finishing the bowl."

Kaoru offered the apologetic man a small smile. "I'm never worried about you finishing the bowl, freeloader. I'm worried about how your going to hold the bowl with one bum arm. Unless you mean to eat it from the floor and make a mess?"

"Fine," chuckled her charge, "You hold the bowl and I'll take care of the chopstick end. Work for you?"

The dojo-master laughed in agreement and presented Sano with the chopsticks while she held the bowl. He probably would have held the bowl himself, had she not called him out on it. For the moment though, Megumi had his left arm bound in a sling and strict instructions about his not moving it much until his shoulder was healed further. With his hair a little wild, and his temper turning sour as his days trapped inside continued, he really was looking more and more like a rooster with a broken wing.

The meal still ended in a bout of laughter, as despite both Kaoru and Sano's best efforts a dumpling still found its way down his chin and into the blankets. Blushing, Kaoru had refused to go in after it, which had made Sanosuke laugh harder as he retrieved the runaway himself and despite her protests, still popped it into his mouth and ate it.

Kaoru pored a cup of tea for each of them, and she sat beside him to enjoy a moment of companionship while they both looked out into the gloomy day beyond the house. There was a reason though, why Sano's earlier temper-tantrum had bother her so. There was a worrisome thought working through her mind, and she needed it off her chest.

"If I told you," the young woman started softly, "That I still like this gift even knowing how it works now, would you think I don't care for you?"

Sanosuke turned to her, obviously confused by this conversation opener. "Jou-chan, what...?"

Kaoru rearranged her thoughts and started again. "Your like the big brother I've never had. Sure you pick on me all the time, and you make me mad a lot, but your always looking out for me anyway. Its not that I like seeing you hurt, I really don't. And I know Kenshin is actually stronger in a fight than you are, but you always come across as being so strong and grounded. I like this gift even with how it works because I feel like its nothing you can't handle. I think, when Kenshin realizes that, maybe he'll like it too."

Sanosuke relaxed back against his blanket support with a laugh. "Oh, I understand where your coming from, Jou-chan. No, I don't think you care less for it. I think you really just want to protect Kenshin. Its all you've ever wanted. But, I wouldn't share what you just told me with Kenshin himself. He'll never agree with us."

"Maybe if we just present it to him the right way..."

"No," Sanosuke snorted, "Trust me, Kenshin is not going to see it our way. He doesn't want to be protected, he wants to protect."

Kaoru sighed, understanding that her friend as very likely right. "You'll still look after him though, even though he isn't going to like this, right?"

"Even if I had a choice in the matter I would, Jou-chan. Of course I would."

The young woman smiled then, bright and open for her brother-figure. "Thank you."

~/~

Kenshin sat very still, sakabatou across his knees and back against the wall of his room. He slept all that he could, which was, irritatingly, not enough. He forced himself to take regular meals. These were things he would not care about nearly as much in his current mood were it only his own health at risk.

That, of course, was the root of the entire problem.

If it were only his own health at risk to his actions, Kenshin would not feel the anger burning in his belly or the overwhelming sense of guilt that permeated the rest of him. He feared moving too much, lest he trip and stub Sanosuke's toe. Not that he was a clumsy man, but when you couldn't feel the pain for yourself, you were ultimately less wary.

Which wouldn't do, considering how that would affect Sanosuke. So, for the three days since the truth of his so-called gift had burst into the open, Kenshin had retreated from polite conversation, only stirring himself to eat and answer the call of nature. Otherwise he alternated between sleeping and meditating. He couldn't hurt anyone with actions or words that way.

While three of the people in his small rag-tag family were willing to back away and respect his privacy, he should have known the fourth would not. The fourth, who was supposed to be resting in his own room, not prowling unsteadily along the porch and sliding the shoji of Kenshin's room open without so much as a knock.

"Hey," Sanosuke greeted with a brief wave of his right hand before steadying himself against the door frame. His features were far too pale, a light sheen of sweat on his face from the effort of traversing between their rooms.

The guilt built and burned in his throat, but he dared not stand and help the stubborn boy. "This does not look like you resting, Sano."

Sanosuke offered him a sloppy sort of smile to that. "When your right your right. I'm supposed ta' be sitting."

The younger man followed through on that statement by sliding gracelessly down the door frame to sit with his back resting against it. "They say you've locked yourself in here without visitation."

That was Sano for you, straight to the point. "I am not good company at the moment. For you either."

"You might be right about that, especially if you're going to insist on looking as though you just kicked a puppy. Or kitten. Where'd that thing get on to, anyhow?"

Kenshin chose to ignore that little straying of topic. "Sano, this one is so very sorry for all that he has..."

"You didn't come see me to start yelling," Sano interrupted him, "So I figured I'd come to you. You can yell at me here instead."

"This one is in no mood for yelling and would prefer to apologize."

"Apologize for what? Not coming to yell at me sooner? I'd rather you yell. At least when you're good and angry there's life in your eyes. Right now you look damn lost. So, I'm here," Sano gestured at himself with his free right arm, "And I know your still pissed, so start yelling all ready."

Kenshin eyed the younger man. He considered arguing the point, he considered continuing the apology. He dismissed both ideas. He would feel better if he could burn off the anger at least, and he suspected Sanosuke well knew that. It was why he insisted on presenting himself as such an easy target.

"You should have told this one immediately."

Sanosuke gave a lopsided shrug. "Maybe I should have. What good would have done though?"

"This one could have told Shizuka-dono to reverse the thing then and there!"

The younger man sighed. "You really think she would have? I kind of don't."

Kenshin bared his teeth for a moment, feeling the anger he had buried for days rising to the surface at Sano's prompting. "We'll never know now. All the same, this one could have prevented a number of mishaps had he known what damage they were doing to you."

"Could you really? Seems like everything you did was everything you would have done any other time."

The rurouni hissed a breath between his teeth, "The consequences are never so great on ones self as they are inflicted on another. In all cases, this one would have found another way!"

Sanosuke watched him carefully, his own temper oddly and carefully in check. Kenshin didn't care just then. "So instead of doing what comes naturally to you, you know, helping others, your going to lock yourself in your room and just hope this gift of ours goes away. I see that's working out real well for you."

"This one does not wish to harm you," Kenshin fairly exploded at the younger man, "You have been a good friend to this one and this is a terrible repayment for such a gift. Your friendship, Sano, is the only gift I've ever needed from you. This is so much worse. This changes our relationship, this changes how this one must face the world. This changes how Sano must face the world."

"I'd rather you keep doing what you usually do. Only, yeah, eating and sleeping are greatly appreciated, trust me. Otherwise, talk to people, cook food, do the dishes, and if a crisis comes up, answer it, dammit!"

Kenshin glared at the younger man. "And if this one should burn himself on the kettle?"

"Then I get a blister," Sanosuke said with another lopsided shrug. "You know I do worse to myself on a weekly basis than you've ever done to me, right? Especially if you keep sleeping like normal, not that I mean to get stuck on that point. Seriously, move on, Kenshin. Your scaring the hell out of Yahiko and the girls."

Despite himself the rurouni huffed a small laugh. "This one thought you were trying to relieve his burden of guilt, not add to it."

"I am," Sano chirped agreeably, "I'll guilt you into crawling out of your cave so you can get rid of that one burden. We'll work on the other one."

"This one sees you as an equal," Kenshin reiterated from his earlier argument between Sano and Megumi-dono, "This one hopes you and the others in the household feel the same way."

Sano shifted uneasily, the usually direct young man skirting around the topic, "We just want to keep you safe, Kenshin."

Kenshin sighed, understanding that that argument would take time to work through to Sano. It didn't matter, he would do everything in his power to remove this one-sided tie between them. He would have Sanosuke have his own life, his own pains and not bare the burden of another. "I will end this curse."

"Fine," the younger man assented, "but I still say you'll have better luck with that if you'll crawl back out of this room and your little guilt trip. Feel better? Ready to go play nice with the kids now?"

"Very well Sano, but this one is putting you back to bed first."

"Do we have to?"

To be continued.

~\~

Author's Ramble:

Its been a very long time since I've updated this O.o. I have no excuses and I think I may be beyond where apologies will save me. Ah, but, I offer you this shiny new chapter as a peace offering?

Yeah. The story isn't dead. I have to thank a lot of kind reviewers for helping me and prompting me and prodding me during the course of this. Your generous, lovely people and I do apologize If I didn't manage to respond to everyone.

As for the story, we got that bit of character exploration out of the way and now we can get down to the nitty-gritty of removing this curse.

Thanks,

DoC


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